The Cardiff Devils are pleased to confirm the re-signing of Sam Duggan for the 2020-21 season.
The Cardiff Devils are pleased to confirm the re-signing of Sam Duggan for the 2020-21 season.
Duggan originally joined the Devils early into the 2018-19 season but had his first full professional season in 2019-20. Last season, he scored 4 goals and 5 assists in all competitions.
Duggan moved to Cardiff in the 2018-19 season after a brief stint in North America with the Jamestown Rebels. Prior to that Duggan played 4 years in Sweden with Orebro HK. He was the assistant captain for the team in the Under 20s SuperElite League. Duggan also captained Orebro HK under 18’s team for two years, before he moved up to the Under 20s.
In 2017 he iced for the GB Men’s team that won Gold in Belfast to gain promotion to Division 1A, scoring twice and adding an assist in the 5 games he played. In 2018 he captained Team GB under 20s at the World Junior Championships and was chosen as the Top Player on his team for the tournament.
Born in Reading, Duggan played for the Bracknell Stingers at U16 level and the Bracknell Drones at U18 level, before moving to Sweden to play for Orebro aged 16. His two older brothers played ice hockey as well, playing for the Guildford Flames, Bracknell Bees and Manchester Phoenix.
MD Todd Kelman spoke about the re-signing of Duggan to the club.
“When we originally signed Sam back in 2018, we knew we were getting a great young player that had tons of potential. He has progressed even quicker than we anticipated.
“He is only 22 years old and is getting better and better each season and I expect a big season out of Duggan this year. He is a workhorse, loves the game and I think he has really benefited from being around the older guys on this team.
“I love the way he plays, all energy every shift. He can adjust and play on any line and he showed that last season. He has great speed and as he gets stronger, he is going to develop into a great power forward in this league.
“As a guy, we just love him. He is great with the fans and makes time for everyone. His teammates absolutely love him as well. He just fit in right away when he arrived here and hopefully he will be here for years to come.”
