Thunder Bay 18U goalie Fanti signs NAHL tender
April 25, 2017
The Thunder Bay Kings of the NAPHL are pleased to announce that 18U goaltender Ryan Fanti has signed a North American Hockey League (NAHL) Tender for the 2017-18 season with the Minnesota Wilderness. The Wilderness compete in the NAHL’s Central Division.
This marks the first-ever NAHL Tender signed by any Kings’ player, which despite the signing, still makes him free to sign on with any other Jr. A league across Canada, if he so desires.
The 17-year-old netminder is coming off a stellar campaign where he was name the top goaltender and most valuable player at this year’s TELUS Cup West Regional in Steinbach, Man.
Fanti also garnered the West Regional’s ESSO Scholarship Award among the four competing teams for his efforts in the classroom.
He was also earlier named to the North American Prospects Hockey League all-Academic team in the under-18 division.
The Kings’ netminder also earned NAPHL Goaltender of the Month honors in January.
Overall during the NAPHL season, the 6’2/190 lbs. native of Thunder Bay posted a 4-7-2 record with a 2.82 goals against average and .896 save percentage. He was even better in the playoffs posting a 3-1 record and stopping 122 of 130 shots.
A tender is a contract, of sorts, a player signs announcing his intentions to play for that particular NAHL team and that NAHL team only. Once a player signs a tender with an NAHL team, his playing rights belong to that team within the NAHL and he may not be recruited by any other NAHL team. Each team is granted ten (10) tenders, which include two (2) tenders exclusively used on players from the NAPHL - plus or minus any trades - which became active on Nov. 1. Tendered players are not eligible for the NAHL draft, which will be held on June 6, 2017.
