Danbury forward Cope signs NAHL tender
June 1, 2020
The Danbury Colonials of the NA3HL are pleased to announce that Top Prospects forward Brandon Cope has officially signed a North American Hockey League (NAHL) tender agreement with the newly formed Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks of the NAHL’s East Division for the 2020-21 season.
Cope, 20, just completed his first season playing in the NA3HL. The 6’0/174 lbs. native of Tampa Bay, Florida, led the Colonials in goals (31), points (68), powerplay goals (11) and plus-minus (+30) last season in the NA3HL.
He represented the Colonials along with Kyle McEnany and Cole Madzey at the 2020 NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament. He was also named to the 2019-20 NA3HL All-Northeast Division Team.
Cope’s play earned a call-up to the NAHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights midway through the season for a pair of games. Now as the Knights relocate to the Hat City for the upcoming season, Cope will have a chance to showcase his abilities in the NAHL.
He becomes the first former Colonial to sign a contract with Danbury’s NAHL club.
“I couldn’t be happier coming back to Danbury,” Cope said excitedly. “The experiences I had last year with my teammates and coaches helped shape the man and player I am today.”
“I’m beyond thrilled for Brandon,” commented Colonials head coach Kevin Cunningham. “He was a huge part of our successful inaugural season last year. His game developed significantly throughout the season thanks to his fantastic work ethic and true love for the game. We’re all looking forward to following his progress with the Jr. Hat Tricks!”
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 July 21, 2020.
