Aug 24, 2022
By Paige Burnell/SanDiegoGulls.com
On Aug. 9, the San Diego Gulls signed Logan Nijhoff to a to a two-year contract beginning in the 2022-23 season after the center appeared in the final three regular season games of 2021-22 with the club on an amateur tryout.
“It certainly hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” Nijhoff said. “I’ve actually been in Regina (Saskatchewan) all summer just having more opportunity to train and skate here with high caliber players. I decided to move here for the summer instead of stay back home in Comox (British Columbia) and as far as it settling in, it hasn’t quite yet. I don’t think it probably will until I get down there and get started, but it’s certainly going to be an exciting change. I’m super excited for that challenge and the opportunity to come.”
Signing a professional contract with the Gulls is the apex of a remarkable Western Hockey League career with the Regina Pats for the center, who achieved career-highs both from a from a statistical and community standpoint.
The 21-year-old earned 25-24=49 points in 57 WHL games to establish career-highs in goals, assists, points, PIM (85) and faceoff percentage (58.3%).
Nijhoff accomplished this while serving as the Pats’ captain for the past two seasons and putting up 61-62=123 points with a +22 rating and 253 PIM in 231 career WHL games from 2016-22.
“I was very fortunate to be given such a big role in Regina in all aspects of the game and I’m certainly looking forward to being able to bring that to San Diego,” Nijhoff said. “Having that opportunity to kind of get my feet wet last year certainly helped me out with what I need to improve on throughout the offseason to be able to make an impact next year.”
Additionally, Nijhoff spent the last three years serving as a player ambassador for Hockey Gives Blood, a nonprofit organization working to promote blood and stem cell donation throughout the hockey community in partnership with Canadian Blood Services.
“Right away, it was something I wanted to get involved with having a grandma who’s needed blood transfusions throughout her life, and my other grandma has been a donator her whole life,” Nijhoff said. “It’s certainly a cause that I wanted to get behind and do everything I could in the community to help people who are in need. It’s pretty incredible how many people need blood when you really diving into it and it’s something that people my age don’t…
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