Thursday, March 1, 2012

SAINTS SIGN DEFENSEMAN KEEGAN FORD TO TENDER

Press Release

DUBUQUE, Iowa - As the USHL regular season enters its homestretch and the Clark Cup playoff race heats up, the Fighting Saints announced a move for the future today. The team signed defenseman Keegan Ford of Waunakee, Wisconsin to a tender, taking advantage of a new USHL rule and ensuring that Ford will be on the roster next season.

The tender process gives USHL teams the option to sign players who are eligible for the Futures Draft to the roster prior to the league's draft process. By tendering Ford, the Fighting Saints have forfeited their first-round Futures Draft pick for 2012. Teams are allowed to tender up to two players - if Dubuque tenders another player, the team will forfeit its second-round Futures Draft pick. Players who have been tendered are required to play in 55% of the team's games, barring injury.

Ford is a 5'10", 175 pound defenseman who has played this year with the Warriors of Waunakee High School in Wisconsin. In twenty-four games with the Warriors, Ford has amassed twenty-seven goals and thirty-six assists for a total of sixty-three points to go along with fifty-six penalty minutes. When he makes his Dubuque debut next season, the left-shot defenseman will become the first player born in 1996 to play for the Fighting Saints.

Fighting Saints Head Coach Jim Montgomery is eager to see what Ford can add to the Fighting Saints roster next season.

"Keegan is an excellent two-way defenseman, but most importantly, he is a Fighting Saints-style player, because of his great hockey sense and tremendous team-first attitude," he said. "We know he is a player who our fans will enjoy watching, and he will certainly help us win hockey games in the coming years."

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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