BRUINS ADD DEFENSEMAN FIELDS FROM TOPEKA

Oct 4, 2017

The Bruins announced a trade on Tuesday, acquiring ’99-born defenseman DeVon Fields from the Topeka RoadRunners in exchange for a tender. Fields joins a group of eight defensemen vying for spots as the 23-man roster cutoff looms on Thursday.

Fields is a native of Detroit, MI – making him the 6th Michigan-born player on the roster. The 6’1, 207-pound blueliner tried out for the Bruins in the summer of 2016 but broke camp with Topeka, playing 47 games for the RoadRunners in 2016-17, in which he scored four goals and added nine assists. He has scored one goal with one assist through five games so far this season.

“I liked it a lot here. It was upsetting to get cut,” said Fields about his tryout over a year ago. “The town is nice and small which I like. The fans were even here for just camp, not even a game which was awesome.”

Prior to the NAHL, Fields played three seasons in the Little Caesar’s organization. He’ll be reunited with defenseman Jaden Shields and forward Justin Brandt, both of whom were teammates with Fields at Little Caesar’s. All three played together on the 2014-15 U16 squad.

“It’s way easier than I thought it would be [getting traded] Fields said. “Shields is a really good buddy and we’re family friends. We’re almost like brothers.”

Fields describes himself as a hard-nosed defenseman: “I’m a very tough physical guy. I’m hard to get around. I’m a tough, stay at home d-man.”

Along with the praise of his physicality and steadiness as a defenseman, head coach Steve Howard says Fields gives the Bruins the unique mix of a player who is young but also experienced.

“Devon is a solid young defenseman that has a year of experience in the NAHL,” he said. “He will be turning 18 later this month, which means he still has three years of Junior hockey to play [including this year]. We are excited to have his physicality on the back end and plan on him being a tough player to play against.”

With that year of experience, Fields understands well the trials and tribulations of the NAHL.

“You gotta bring your A-game every practice, every game, every day. It’s a hard grind. It’s fun though.”

The Bruins are home this weekend for a two-game set against the Midwest Division leading Janesville Jets on Friday and Saturday night at 7:05 PM. Tickets to both games are on sale for $4 off the door price at Hy-Vee, Jim’s Marketplace, Games People Play, and the Holiday Inn and Austin Conference Center.