Former Hobey Baker winner Ryan Duncan will play for the Bridgeport Tigers of the AHL for the rest of the season on an amateur tryout contract. Apparently Duncan couldn't find an NHL contract, so he will play the rest of the season in the AHL to try and impress some NHL team into signing him over the summer.
It's a strange coincidence that Dan Sexton signed an NHL deal the same day Duncan had to resort to an AHL tryout. What's the difference between Duncan and Sexton? Both are very undersized forwards that put up good numbers in the NCAA. The difference is that Sexton is two years younger and had the bargaining chip of returning to school. Duncan had both of those things in his favor once too. I credit the kid with sticking around to get his degree, and hopefully he'll play well these last couple weeks and end up with an NHL contract anyway, but you've got to wonder if he missed a big opportunity. North Dakota will always be there, barring a high flood crest, but the NHL is a once in a lifetime opportunity.