Boston University Sophomore Captian Shane Lachance signs ELC with New Jersey

Photo credit: Annika Morris/Boston Hockey Blog

According to reports, following Saturday night’s NCAA National Championship game between the Boston University Terriers and Western Michigan Broncos, BU captain Shane Lachance is set to forego his junior season and turn pro with the New Jersey Devils. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic was the first to report the news late last night.

“I couldn’t be more excited to get pen to paper and start my journey with the Devils organization,” Lachance said. “I’m just going to get through the next few weeks here and enjoy that. It’s a big summer for me. Make sure I’m doing the right things and talk to the guy us here, see what they want me doing. Come up with a good plan for the summer to give myself a good chance for the fall.”

Lachance signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Devils starting with the 2025-2026 season and will spend the rest of this season with the Utica Comets on an AHL “Standard Player Contract”.

With his contract set to begin next season, Lachance was only eligible to sign a two-year ELC with his 22nd birthday on August 30th.

According to Puckpedia, his cap hit will be $925,000. Shane can also achieve $250,000 in performance bonuses.

Shane, the son of former NHLer and Devils head Scout Scott Lachance, was acquired at the 2025 NHL trade deadline in the Trent Frederic deal, which saw the Boston Bruins trade Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers. New Jersey general manager Tom Fitzgerald helped facilitate that trade by retaining 25% ($575,000) of Frederic’s deal and, in exchange, receiving the signing rights of Lachance.

Drafted 186th overall in the 6th round of the 2021 NHL Draft out of Massachusets Prep School, the 6’5, 220-pound winger played in Youngstown of the USHL for two seasons, where he captained the team to a Clark Cup.

In 2023, Shane followed in the steps of his father and grandfather, the legendary BU coach Jack Parker, by committing to the Terriers to play under former New Jersey Devil and two-time Stanley Cup champion Jay Pandolfo.

A third-generation hockey player at BU, Lachance finished his career playing 80 games, scoring 25 goals, and 58 points while being a +15.

In his freshman season, Lachance put up a respectable 13 goals and 28 points before being eliminated in the Frozen Four. As a sophomore Lachance would put up similar numbers with 12 goals and 30 points as the team fell just one win short of a national title.

“Honestly, it’s been an emotional roller coaster the past 10 days,” Lachance said. “I’m super proud of our team (BU). A lot of people didn’t expect us to make it that far. We came up one game short, which stinks. It’s nice to look forward to this and have a fresh start and continue my season for a little bit.”

This season Lachance was named a captain of the team, the first sophomore in the history of the program to receive that honor. Shane is a born leader and has been a captain at every level he’s played, Prep School, Juniors, and College.

As the horn sounded in his final game, Lachance was the first player to greet his goaltender and fellow New Jersey Devils prospect Mikhail Yegorov, who joined the team halfway through the season. This picture captures the type of person Shane is.

“He was emotional. I told him if you weren’t here, we’d probably be out two months ago,” Lachance said to Big Mike in the picture above. “He really put us on his back. We wouldn’t have gotten that far at all without him. He was awesome for us.”

Now that it’s official that Lachance will finish the season in Utica, he’ll join fellow Devils prospects Cam Squires and Ethan Edwards, who also joined the AHL club after their respective seasons concluded.

A high hockey IQ player, Lachance brings size, leadership, versatility, and forechecking ability to the professional game. Shane is also a great net-front and power-play presence with his tipping ability. He’s got some soft hands for a big guy.

The Comets are back in action on April 18th with a two-game home-and-home weekend with the Syracuse Crunch to close out the season.

Tom Fitzgerald is set to overhaul the Devils bottom-six forward group this summer. Players like Tomas Tatar, Curtis Lazar, Daniel Sprong, Justin Dowling, and Nate Bastian are all free agents this July and almost all won’t be returning to New Jersey next season.

If all goes well in training camp, don’t be surprised if Lachance can create a role for himself and crack the opening night roster for Sheldon Keefe.