The New York Islanders have signed goaltender Henrik Tikkanen and forward Alex Jefferies to two-year, entry-level contracts that begin in 2024-25.
Tikkanen, 23, has played 16 games with the Islanders’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, this season, posting a 7-5-2 record with a 2.17 goals-against-average and .927 save percentage. He won in his AHL debut on Dec. 29, 2023, at Springfield and pieced together a five-game unbeaten in-regulation streak (4-0-1) from Feb. 2, 2024, through Mar. 3, 2024.
A native of Lohja, Finland, Tikkanen also went 11-7-1 with a 3.22 goals-against-average and .892 save percentage in 20 ECHL games with the Worcester Railers this season. He spent last season with Worcester, going 18-17-3 with a 3.02 goals-against-average, .914 save percentage and two shutouts. Tikkanen was selected in the seventh round (214th overall) by the New York Islanders in the 2020 NHL Draft.
Jefferies, the Islanders’ fourth-round selection (121st overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft, has six points (three goals, three assists) in 10 AHL games with the Bridgeport Islanders this season, including one assist in his professional debut on Mar. 22nd at Utica. He joined Bridgeport on an amateur tryout agreement (ATO) on Mar. 20th. Jefferies completed his fourth and final season at Merrimack College last month and recorded 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) in 22 games, and was nominated for the 2024 Hobey Baker Award, which recognizes the top amateur player in the United States.
Jefferies finished his college career with 97 points (41 goals, 56 assists) in 105 games for the Warriors, including a career-high 14 goals and 41 points as a junior in 2022-23. The 22-year-old native of Framingham, Mass. was named to the Hockey East First All-Star Team that season and was a Hockey East All-Rookie selection in 2020-21.
