As the son of a potential Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender, Tom Richter has had to talk about his hockey genetics throughout his own career.
For the next season, at least, he'll be answering those questions about his dad Mike as a member of the Prince George Spruce Kings.
The Spruce Kings announced Friday they've recruited the 19-year-old forward from Connecticut, who played high school hockey last season at Salisbury School. The six-foot, 170-pound Richter has already signed with Union College and will join the Dutchmen for the 2020-21 season.
A shoulder injury limited him to 22 games in 2018-19 and in 15 games with Salisbury he scored two goals and had four assists. He had four points in seven games with the Mid-Fairfield Rangers midget team.
Mike Richter played 14 NHL seasons with the New York Rangers and the three-time all star backed the Blueshirts to a win over the Vancouver Canucks in the 1994 Stanley Cup final. The Rangers raised his No. 35 to the rafters at Madison Square Garden after he retired in 2003.
"Tom obviously has great bloodlines and he's certainly been exposed to a high level of hockey," said Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes. "He's a tremendously hardworking forward who's going to fit well into the style of play we play, that in-your-face style hard on the puck. He will fit that mold well for us."
Richter is the first son of an NHL player to join the Spruce Kings since forward Daniel Nachbaur in 2015. His father Don, who grew up in Prince George, played eight NHL seasons with Hartford, Edmonton and Philadelphia.
The Kings have added another Union College recruit, 19-year-old forward Andrew Seaman, to their roster. The five-foot-10, 170-pound Seaman is a native of Winnetka, Ill., who scored 16 goals and 11 assists in 32 games last season for Phillips Exeter Academy, a high school team in Exeter, N.H.
Seaman is also slated to join the Dutchmen in 2020.
"Andrew is a good-skating forward with a lot of skill and he's a hardworking guy and he's got some good finish to his game," said Hawes. "He has some real good offensive ability and he should put up some good numbers this year for sure."
Both were recommended to the Spruce Kings by Dutchmen assistant coach Jason Tapp.
"The coaches at Union College, having watched us play a lot over the the last couple of seasons, really like how we develop our players," said Hawes.
