Michigan Tech senior forward Brian Halonen, right, celebrates a goal with Trenton Bliss, left, against Northern Michigan on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, in Marquette, Mich. (Courtesy Photo/Michigan Tech University)
Michigan Tech hockey senior forward Brian Halonen has signed a two-year, two-way entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils.
Team executive cice president and general manager Tom Fitzgerald announced the signing on Monday. Halonen was an undrafted free agent.
The contract will begin with the 2022-23 season. Halonen will sign an American Hockey League Amateur Tryout Contract and report to the AHL affiliate Utica Comets this week.
Halonen, of Delano, Minnesota, appeared in 139 games for the Huskies and scored 53 goals and 52 assists. He became the 68th player in program history to reach the 100-point milestone and ended his career ranked 58th in points. Halonen is a Hobey Baker Top 10 Finalist and was named to the All-CCHA First Team.
Halonen scored a career-high 44 points as a senior in 37 games. He scored 21 goals and 23 assists and led the nation in even-strength goals (18). He led the CCHA with 36 points and 16 goals during conference games. He also ranked fifth in the CCHA with 20 assists during league games and had an 11-game point streak from December 30-February 12, tallying eight goals and 10 assists during the stretch.
Halonen was named the CCHA Forward of the Month for February after tallying 14 points with six goals and eight assists and was named the Michigan Tech Winter Carnival MVP for the second time in his career with a goal and two assists in the series. Halonen scored game-winning goals at Clarkson (Oct. 29) and in overtime against St. Thomas on Dec. 10. He received all-conference honors for the second time in his career after being on the WCHA All-Rookie Team in 2019.
As a freshman, Halonen received the team’s Norbert Matovich Memorial Outstanding Freshman Award after tallying 21 points with 12 goals and nine assists in 35 games. He had 22 points as a sophomore, 18 as a junior, and a career-high 44 as a senior. He scored 11 power-play and 10 game-winning goals in his college career.
Prior to Michigan Tech, Halonen played 67 games in the USHL for Des Moines and had 37 points on 18 goals and 19 assists. He was a Minnesota All-State selection for Delano High School and scored 167 points in 96 high games across three seasons. The Tigers were sectional champions in 2017.
