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Wade Megan signs ATO with San Antonio Rampage

By Kevin Dillon/DFP Staff

Boston University men’s hockey captain Wade Megan has found a new place to play hockey, as he signed an amateur tryout contract with the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL Monday. The Rampage are the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers — the organization that drafted him in the fifth round in 2009.

“It is a pretty good feeling,” Megan said. “I haven’t gotten into it too much yet, but just being here is great and I’m excited to get started.”

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound left winger was second on the Terriers with 16 goals this season while leading the team with 140 shots on goal. Megan did not make First Team or Second Team Hockey East, but was given an honorable mention for his play. He ends his BU career with 49 goals and 34 assists in 151 games.

“I was happy that Wade Megan was my last captain, because he was a hell of a captain,” said BU coach Jack Parker after his team’s season ended in a loss in the Hockey East finals. “I’ve been blessed with a lot of those type of guys over my career here, over 40 years here. He was a terrific captain for us.”

Megan got the call from San Antonio Monday night and flew there Tuesday night before spending the day undergoing medical tests Wednesday. Now officially with the Rampage, he expects to play his first professional game Thursday night.

Part of the medical testing was to look at this shoulder, which had been injured in BU’s 6-0 loss to Denver on Dec. 29, 2012. However, Megan said he did not need to wear a brace for the end of the season with the Terriers and “it feels fine now.”

With 13 games remaining on San Antonio’s schedule and the team at the bottom of the South Division in the Western Conference, Megan said he is planning on using these last 13 games to help adapt himself to the AHL level.

“I’ve got a lot of things I want to work on,” Megan said. “I’m going to continue to do that. I’m just trying to stay as relaxed as possible right now and playing good hockey down the stretch here.”

7 Comments

  1. Good luck to wade but there is something that troubles me about these guys going pro after the season. Does he not have to go to the rest of his classes and take a final to complete his courses? Maybe I don not understand as I went to school a long tme ago but if I missed severl classes I could not have pased a final. Does school mean anything to these guys any more? What are they doing there if not to get an education and play hockey? Just asking.

  2. While your presumption is virtuous, it’s naïve to believe that academics take priority over a pro hockey career for these guys. Timing is also an issue here. Opportunities to play pro are limited and time sensitive. And unless you are a superstar, the teams aren’t going to wait for you. Even from a non-athlete’s perspective, job prospects for college grads are still pretty grim. So if you’re an accounting major and a firm offers you a job before you graduate, you’d probably jump on it. In this case, Megan is ahead of his classmates – having a job before he graduates (assuming he makes the team, or its ECHL affiliate). He can always come back and finish his degree.

  3. FYI, most players have taken summer and additional course over their college careers so have little requirements left at this point. I know that many profs allow student athletes to go off short term like this and do their papers and requirements on line. Most of the players wind up back at school well prior to graduation so they can finish off their courses in person as well.

  4. Good Luck Wade!

  5. Ben Rosen’s new AHL team must be allowing him to finish school. I know he played one game for them a few weeks ago, but he’s in my class and hasn’t missed.

  6. He played in the final 12-13 games for the Rampage, and then went back to BU summer classes to finish up. Academics do play a part in all of this as well, its not just Hockey.