San Diego Gulls sign winger Jamie Devane to PTO
Credit: NHL.com
The San Diego Gulls added a new face on Tuesday, signing winger Jamie Devane to a professional tryout. Here’s everything you need to know about him.
From foes from friends, the San Diego Gulls signed someone they’ve seen quite a bit over the years. At 29 years of age, Jamie Devane has essentially been an AHL player, with only a cup of coffee at the NHL level. Drafted in the third round of the 2009 NHL Draft, Devane was a big-bodied forward supposed to be a great piece for the Toronto Maple Leafs for the foreseeable future.
He was always a prolific point-producer in the OHL, scoring five goals and 17 points in his draft year. Between the 10-11 and 11-12 seasons, Devane tallied 42 goals and 41 assists in 122 games. But for whatever reason, he’s never taken the next step at the AHL level, scoring two goals with three assists in 22 games during the 12-13 campaign.
After officially moving on from the Maple Leafs organization, Devane landed with the Milwaukee Admirals for the 15-16 season, tallying six goals and five assists in 62 games. The following season, he posted a career-best four goals and 13 points in 43 games with the Stockton Heat.
Spending time with the Ontario Reign and Wilkes/Barre, Devane played on four different teams in five years. As noted, he’s a big forward, standing at 6-foot-5, 231 pounds. He’ll bring a much-needed veteran presence to the San Diego Gulls, with only Matt Lorito older than Devane on the Gulls’ roster.
Welcome to the team, Jamie!
Today, we signed left wing Jamie Devane to a professional tryout (PTO). pic.twitter.com/UL3gVh4ChD
— San Diego Gulls (@SDGullsAHL) February 16, 2021
Given San Diego’s historic 5-0 start, Devane understands he won’t have time to test the waters. The Gulls are expecting him to jump in and contribute immediately.
“I’ve been in the league long enough, coming back from injury. I’m kind of looking at it like that because I haven’t played in so long,” Devane said to the Gulls media on Tuesday. “You just gotta kind of get up to speed in the system and stuff, just getting into game shape, so when game time comes, you’re ready.”
Devane’s physicality is another element that cannot be measured. He uses that big body to push the opposition around, and he’s not afraid to get into scraps to give his team a boost. When Devane was with Ontario, he got into a scrum with Gulls’ James Melindy in December 2017, with Andrew Crescenzi in September 2018, and with Luke Gazdic in April 2019.
“It’s a lot of, I wouldn’t say friendly faces, since I’ve been competing against the guys for a long time,” Devane said with a grin from ear-to-ear. “I recognize a lot of guys and some I’ve played with before.”
Devane will likely slot into the Gulls’ bottom-six forwards, potentially competing for playing time with Alex Dostie, who was also signed to a professional tryout before the season began.
Padres writer/editor for East Village Times. LA Kings writer/editor for Hockey Royalty. IBWAA member.