Though he failed to sign an NHL contract with the Minnesota Wild earlier this year, making him an unrestricted free agent, Shawn Boudrias will stay with the organization that drafted him. The 21-year-old forward has signed an AHL contract with the Iowa Wild and will start his professional career there after an impressive finish to his junior years.
Boudrias, selected 179th overall by the Wild in 2018, scored 35 goals and 79 points in 59 games with the Cape Breton Eagles last season, trailing only Ottawa Senators second-round pick Yegor Sokolov for the team lead in both categories. That was the cherry on top of a pretty effective QMJHL career which included more than 100 goals and 200 points over parts of five seasons.
In Iowa, the 6’5″ forward can continue to develop his game and attempt to prove that he was worth an entry-level deal after all. What that first AHL season will look like is still unclear, but whenever it starts and whatever it looks like, Boudrias will be there.