by John Peterson
Well, that didn’t take long.
Six days after his career at Canisius College ended in the semifinals of the Atlantic Hockey Conference Tournament, former Austin Bruins goaltender Keegan Asmundson (Inver Grove Heights, MN) was already heading towards greener pastures.
Last Thursday Asmundson signed his first professional contract, with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL. Moving from Buffalo, NY to Charleston, SC meant greener, indeed.
The 6’5 rookie was thrown into the fire almost immediately. He joined his new teammates Saturday and was in the Stingrays’ starting lineup for their game that night against the Indy Fuel. In a 3-2 defeat, Asmundson stopped 20 Indy shots, but he bounced back the next night to earn his first pro win, a 4-0 shutout of Evansville.
Before his trip south to South Carolina, the 24-year-old finished up his senior season with the Golden Griffins as one of the toughest goalies to face in college hockey. Asmundson posted a 11-7-4 record, with a 2.09 goals-against average and a save percentage of 92.6%. His achievements landed him on the All-Atlantic Hockey Second Team.
Asmundson backstopped the expansion Bruins for much of the 2010-11 season, appearing in 38 games. He finished the campaign with a record of 18-18-2 and a 92.3% save percentage. After his time in Austin, he played for both Fargo and Des Moines in the USHL.
Now as a professional, Asmundson has a chance to live his hockey dream. He is the second former Bruins player to sign a pro contract, after defenseman Christian Folin (Gothenburg, Sweden – UMass Lowell) signed with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.
The Stingrays feed into two AHL clubs–the Hershey Bears and Providence Bruins, and two NHL organizations–the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins. If he plays well and gets his opportunities, there’s always a chance we could see Keegan Asmundson in another Bruins jersey.
