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On Wednesday, former Boston College mens hockey forward Andre Gasseau, who served as a captain for the Eagles this past season, signed a two-year, two-way entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks, who picked up his draft rights on June 18.
Gasseau was originally drafted by the Boston Bruins in the sixth round of the 2021 National Hockey League (NHL) Draft, but the organization traded the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Garden Grove, Calif., native's rights to the Sharks after failing to sign him following the conclusion of his career on the Heights.
In several ways, San Jose is more of a perfect landing spot for the former Eagle, who registered 111 points in 135 games played donning the maroon and gold, than Boston would have been.
The most obvious reason is that it becomes somewhat of a homecoming for Gasseau, who grew up on the West Coast albeit far more south in the state of California than where his new home will be.
Nevertheless, only a six-hour drive separates Gasseaus hometown from the SAP Center at San Jose, which does not compare to the grueling, cross-country plane ride that his relatives had to endure throughout his time at BC if they wished to see him play in-person.
The same would have been true if he had been signed by Boston instead.
Gasseaus new chapter also consists of a reunion with a former college teammate who the Sharks drafted No.
4 overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, forward Will Smith.
Smith signed his entry-level contract with the organization following a standout freshman campaign on the Heights in which he led the nation in scoring with 71 overall points, and Gasseau ranked seventh overall on the team in points that year with 29 (12 goals, 17 assists).
While the two were not linemates, they were both integral offensive pieces for BC head coach Greg Brown in his second year at the helm, and chemistry between them is naturally going to blossom if Gasseau is called up to play in San Jose from the start.
Another perk of this signing for Gasser is that the Sharks organization is still in a rebuilding stage.
The organization has made a firm commitment to filling out its roster around 2026 Olympic All-Star forward Macklin Celebrini, who Gasseau played against when Celebrini was a freshman at Boston University and won the Hobey Baker Award.
A player like Gasseau, who naturally has a leg up in terms of making the transition from the collegiate level to the league due to his size, is more suited to fit in with a younger cast of teammates, and San Joses current roster is mostly composed of a younger core of players.
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Graham Dietz is a 2025 graduate of Boston College and subsequently joined Boston College On SI.
He previously served as an editor for The Heights, the independent student newspaper, from fall 2021, including as Sports Editor from 2022-23.
Graham works for The Boston Globe as a sports correspondent, covering high school football, girls' basketball, and baseball.
He was also a beat writer for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League in the summer of 2023.
Follow graham_dietz.