By Mason Lyttle (@MasonLyttle) | Mar 6, 2018 | 1:42pm
JANESVILLE, WI – The Janesville Jets, proud members of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), have signed forwards Tommy Middleton and Max Helgeson to tender contracts, securing their NAHL rights for the 2018-19 season.
A tender is a contract a team offers a prospect to reserve his rights for the upcoming NAHL season. When a player signs a tender, his rights belong to that team within the NAHL, and he may not be recruited or drafted by any other member club. Each team is granted 10 tenders, which became active on November 1, and which they can either use on a prospect or trade to another NAHL club.
Tommy Middleton
Middleton (5-11/174) is a 2000 left-handed forward from the Compuware program. Skating in his first U18 season this year, Middleton has nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 19 games. He won the HPHL U16 championship with Compuware last season, and developed with the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies program before that. In 61 games of his U15 season, he scored 24 goals and added 28 assists for 52 points.
“I’m very thankful to be able to begin my junior career with the Jets,” Middleton said. “This is a great step in my development and I couldn’t be more excited.”
Coaches Say
“Tommy has had a successful midget career. The Janesville Jets are very excited to have him for next season. Tommy is a great two-way forward who can skate well, and will add scoring next season.” — Corey Leivermann, Jets Director of Recruiting & Assistant Coach
Max Helgeson
Helgeson (6-0/170) is a 2000 forward from Anchorage, Alaska. Helgeson scored 19 goals in 26 games as a freshman at West Anchorage High in 2015-16 before coming to the lower 48 to continue his development. He put up 17 points in 31 games last year playing 16U for the Cleveland Barons, and has 32 points in 35 games this year for the U18 Iowa Wild.
“I’m very excited to be joining the Janesville Jets,” he said. “I look forward to another successful season next year.”
Coaches Say
“The Jets are excited to have Max sign a tender with us for next season. Max has had a solid year thus far with the Iowa Wild U18 program, and we expect big things from him next season.” — Corey Leivermann, Jets Director of Recruiting & Assistant Coach
Becoming a great development program for NCAA hockey means building for the future while focusing on the season at hand. After a long week of hockey between the Top Prospects Tournament and a three-game weekend, the Jets fly Wednesday to Alaska, where they will play their next five games against the Kenai River Brown Bears and the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. The team returns to Janesville for a set of five home games later this month before finishing the regular season in Richfield, Minnesota. Stay connected to the Jets through Facebook and Twitter.
