The Minnesota Wild have announced that they have signed defenseman Jack Peart from St. Cloud State University to a three-year entry level contract, starting in the 2024-25 season. Peart was drafted in the second round by the Wild, going 54th overall in the 2021 NHL draft.
St. Cloud State Career
Jack Peart spent three seasons at St. Cloud, including the 2023-24 season, where he played in all 38 games, earning three goals and 11 assists for 14 points. He had 18 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -4. Through his three seasons at St. Cloud, Peart played in a total of 109 games, where he had eight goals and 47 assists for 55 points. He had 66 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +15.
Peart had a total of nine multipoint games, including three three point games and six two point games throughout his three seasons at St. Cloud State. This season, Peart had a total of 65 shots on net, including eight games where he had three or more shots, including the game on March 9th, 2024, against Minnesota Duluth, where he registered six shots.
Peart finished his career tied at 16th for career assists and tied at 22nd for career points amongst all St. Cloud State defensemen.
Offensively, Peart did had a rough season, but defensively he made some major improvements. He did still have a few hiccups during games, but he also had quite a few really impressive plays that helped keep his team in some games. Peart is a defenseman that can defend well, and is also not afraid to shoot the puck.
Team USA
Peart has played with Team USA on their U20 World Juniors team twice, in 2022 and 2023. In 2022, Peart got to play in four games where he had zero goals and two assists for two points. He had zero penalty minutes and a plus/minus of 0. In 2023, Peart played in seven games where he had zero goals and three assists for three points. He had zero penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +3.
Accolades
Throughout his three collegiate seasons, Peart earned many accolades. In the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), Peart was named Rookie of the Week and Defenseman of the Week, he was named to the All-NCHC Second Team two years in a row, a finalist for Offensive Defenseman of the Year, and he was named to the Pre-season All-NCHC Team. In the 2022-23 season, Peart won the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Tournament with St. Cloud State and also won a bronze medal with Team USA at the 2023 U20 World Juniors.
Peart was named to the USHL All-Rookie Second Team in the 2020-21 season when he was with the Fargo Force, and he won the 2021 Mr. Hockey Award, which is given out to the best senior high school hockey player in Minnesota.
Jack Peart is expected to sign in the AHL with the Iowa Wild to finish this season. But he could join the Minnesota Wild as early as the start of the 2024-25 season.
