North Iowa forward Burgmeier signs NAHL tender
May 1, 2015
The North Iowa Bulls of the NA3HL are proud to announce that Mason City, Iowa native Joe Burgmeier has signed a tender with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs of the NAHL. The Ice Dogs were the 2014 NAHL Robertson Cup Champions and currently are involved in their Divisional playoffs in an attempt to defend their Robertson Cup title.
Burgmeier, 19, led the Bulls in goals this season with 28 during the regular season including six game-winners, which was also tops for the Bulls. During the NA3HL playoffs Joe tallied 6 goals in 9 games with 4 game winners and totaled 13 points.
At the USA Hockey Tier III Junior Nationals Joe was again at it by notching the game winner in the National Championship game. He also played in the 2015 NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament in Ann Arbor, where he had a goal in two wins for the West Division team. Burgmeier was also named to the NA3HL All-Rookie 2nd Team.
"It will be hard to find a player with a knack like that to come up with key goals at key times such as Joe did for us this year," said North Iowa head coach Todd Sanden.
Joe credits his line mates Brett Gravelle and Johnny Panvica for much of his success. "We had unbelievable chemistry with our line, a lot of times I just had to find space for those two to get me pucks to shoot," said Burgmeier.
Gravelle and Panvica are also both tendered in the NAHL, Gravelle with the Minnesota Magicians and Panvica with the Soo Eagles.
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 become active on Nov. 1. Tendered players are not eligible for the NAHL draft, which will be held in June 9, 2015.
