In the past two weeks, forward Shane Lachance and his Boston University Terriers made a remarkable run in the NCAA Frozen Four tournament, lost in the championship game to Western Michigan in his final collegiate game ever, signed an entry-level contract with the Devils and will ship off to Utica of the American Hockey League to make his pro hockey debut for the Comets.
“Honestly, it’s been an emotional roller coaster the past 10 days,” Lachance said. “I’m super proud of our team (BU). A lot of people didn’t expect us to make it that far. We came up one game short, which stinks. It’s nice to look forward to this and have a fresh start and continue my season for a little bit.”
Lachance (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) finished his second season with Boston University in 2024-25, posting 12 goals and 30 points in 40 games. He served as team captain, leading his club to the final game of the season, but unfortunately the team came up short, 6-2.
“I don’t know if it’s really hit me yet. It’s been an emotional last couple of days,” Lachance said of the loss and the end of his college career.
Lachance, 21, made the run alongside another Devils prospect in goaltender Mikhail Yegorov – selected in the second round (49th overall) of the 2024 NHL Draft by the Devils. Yegorov (or ‘Big Mike’ as Lachance calls him) had a spectacular start to his college career, going 11-6-1 with a 2.15 goals-against average and .927 save percentage.
Yegorov surrendered five goals in the loss in the championship game. At the final buzzer, Lachance skated up to his teammate and had some words for the sullen netminder.
“He was emotional. I told him if you weren’t here, we’d probably be out two months ago,” Lachance said of the moment caught on camera of their conversation. “He really put us on his back. We wouldn’t have gotten that far at all without him. He was awesome for us.”
And when Lachance, a left-handed shot, was traded to the Devils – from Edmonton on March 4 to facilitate a three-way deal – he called Yegorov and the two discussed possibly being teammates in the NHL together, even possibly being roommates.
“When I got traded, he was one of the first people I talked to,” Lachance said. “He was excited.”
But for now, Lachance is looking ahead to transitioning to the AHL, which became official on Wednesday morning with the official signing of the contract.
“I couldn’t be more excited to get pen to paper and start my journey with the Devils organization,” Lachance said. “I’m just going to get through the next few weeks here and enjoy that. It’s a big summer for me. Make sure I’m doing the right things and talk to the guy us here, see what they want me doing. Come up with a good plan for the summer to give myself a good chance for the fall.”
The trade to New Jersey was a full circle moment for Lachance, who was originally selected by the Oilers in the sixth round (186th overall) in 2021. He grew up a Devils fan in his youth, citing the 2012 and ’17 playoff runs as favorite memories.
“One thing that sticks out to me, the playoff run in 2012,” he said. “I was young. I have a video of my brothers and I. we made Beat LA shirts and we were jumping up and down.
“Then in 2017, that Tampa Bay series. We went to the Prudential Center. My whole family went to Game 3, that they won. That was pretty cool. Maybe we should have gone to a couple more (games). That was awesome. That place was fired up. It was just an exciting moment.”
And of course, joining the Devils brings Lachance back home with his father, Scott, a former NHL player of 12-plus years and the Devils current Head of U.S. Scouting.
“He’s a huge part of my success as a hockey player and as a person,” Lachance said.
And his dad had a simple message for his son.
“He was excited for me. He was happy. He was proud of me,” Lachance said. “But there is a lot of work left to do. That was the message that he gave to me.”
--Amanda Stein contributed to this report
