North Iowa forward Swanson signs NAHL tender
March 22, 2018
North Iowa Bulls and NA3HL forward Aaron Swanson hasn't been in the North American 3 Hockey League for very long, but he's already made a big impact for the three-time league champions. After a brief stretch with the Bulls to close out 2017-18, he's set to head back to the North American Hockey League next season after signing a new tender with the Amarillo Bulls.
Swanson joined the North Iowa Bulls at the roster deadline last month, and made his NA3HL debut on Feb. 24 against the New Ulm Steel. He made his presence known immediately, scoring a power-play goal just 39 seconds into the second period in a 4-3 overtime win.
His final game of the regular season was his best yet, though. The Sun Prairie, Wisconsin native tallied five points, including a pair of goals, against the Wausau RiverWolves in a 15-0 Bulls triumph.
Swanson is the fourth North Iowa player this season to sign a tender with a North American Hockey League team. More than two dozen Bulls players have spent time with an NAHL team during their careers.
He went north after playing 22 games in the NAHL this season, originally tendering with Amarillo last May. The first-year junior forward came to the NAHL after winning a Dixon Cup championship with the Madison Capitols 18-and-under team in the North American Prospects Hockey League a year ago.
Swanson's signing means he'll come off the league's draft board this coming summer, and the Bulls will also have the first shot at putting him on their roster when the 2018-19 season begins.
The North Iowa Bulls thank Aaron Swanson for all of his contributions this season, and wish him the best on his return to Amarillo next season.
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 one tender exclusively used on players from the NA3HL - 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 5, 2018.
