Prospect on the Move: Jack Nevins to Buffalo
By Max Marko
The Montreal Canadiens acquired Torrey Mitchell from in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. Going Buffalo’s way would be a 7th round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft and prospect Jack Nevins.
Now hearing its Jack Nevins (not Nattinen) and a 7TH rounder for Torey Mitchell.
— Tony Marinaro (@TonyMarinaro) March 2, 2015
Nevins was a undrafted free agent that signed with Montreal in 2013. Nevins has played in the OHL and QMJHL for multiple teams. His best season came in Charlottetown of the QMJHL where he scored 14 goals and 22 assists in 41 games. Besides that, Nevins has never had a productive season.
In eight seasons of junior or minor hockey, Nevins has scored more than 5 goals in a season only twice. Nevins is known to be a grinder and has the body type for it at 6’2″ and 203lbs, which can explain his lack of statistics, but the missing points is very unattractive to any general manager.
Jack Nevins takes part in a QMJHL practice (
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Still, it is a very nice story for the Stittsville, Ontario native. When he signed with the Canadiens it came as a surprise to him telling The Guardian “If you would have told me I would have been signing an NHL deal in December, I wouldn’t have believed you… It’s a great day for me and it’s great news. I am just having a tough time wiping the smile off my face.”
He has come a long way from being one of three eligible over-agers on a QMJHL team, to being on two NHL rosters in 3 years. It is nice, but Nevins knows that he still has a long way to go. “I have a lot of work to do if I want to get [to the NHL],” Nevins stated.
He’s right. Any player that has played 32 games in the AHL without a point has a long way to go. The Sabres will have Nevins squander in the AHL until his contract runs out, and then they will most likely let him walk out.
It is a sad story, but there is no room for a poor prospect on an AHL roster of a rebuilding team. Hopefully Jack Nevins can find a place to settle down and play, but it is unlikely that after the 2015-16 season Jack Nevins will play at a professional level again.