Chris Jandric

Chris Jandric (born October 3, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League (AHL). He is a former first team All-NCHC member as part of the North Dakota Fighting Hawks.

In his youth, Jandric typically played as a forward, like his brother Steven. Around the age of 10, he changed position to a defenseman, reasoning that his skating skills were sufficient and it would be easier to make rosters that way.^[1] In addition to playing tennis in high school,^[2] from 2014 to 2016, Jandric played minor hockey for the Cariboo Cougars of the BC Hockey Major Midget League (BCMML). He was the teammate of his brother as well as future NHL forward Dylan Cozens.

Following time in minor hockey, Jandric spent time with the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) before committing, along with his brother, to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).^[3] He regularly worked out at a CrossFit gym in Prince George, British Columbia during the offseason, in order to physically keep up with the rigors of college hockey, and with an eye on constant improvement.^[4] In 2019, Jandric made the WCHA All-Rookie Team^[5] and, in total, appeared in 63 games for the school. After UAF opted out of the 2020–21 season due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic,^[6] he would take the year off in order to strengthen his body before transferring to the University of North Dakota (UND).^[7] Jandric described the opportunity as "once-in-a lifetime", and stated his goal was to win the NCAA ice hockey championship.^[7] Collectively, he would appear in 77 games over two seasons for UND with the Fighting Hawks, tallying five goals and 48 points during that period. Jandric led the team's power play unit, which produced the second highest scoring rate in the nation, as well as himself personally leading the team in plus-minus, with a +16 differential.^[1] His coach, Brad Berry, described Jandric's speed/agility as both "high end" and "elite".^[1] In 2023, he was selected to the All-NCHC First Team,^[8] as well as the Academic All-NCHC Team.^[9]

On March 27, 2023, Jandric was signed to a two-year contract by the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL), with a professional tryout (PTO) for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.^[10] In his AHL debut, he recorded an assist.

Jandric was one of 35 players invited to the 2023 Buffalo Sabres Development Camp,^[11] along with former teammate Matteo Costantini, who was selected by the Sabres in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.^[12] He was also part of the roster for the Sabres' Prospect Challenge Tournament.^[13][14] Following this, he was signed to PTO with the Sabres, and was invited to the initial portion of the team's annual Training Camp, but was released nine days later^[15] so he could take part in the respective training camp for Rochester. On October 9, it was announced that Jandric had been assigned to the Jacksonville Icemen, the ECHL affiliate for both the Sabres as well as the Americans.^[16][17] Jandric recorded his first ECHL point on the Icemen's first goal of the season, with an assist. After recording a total of two assists in six games with the Icemen, Jandric was recalled to the Americans on November 6, 2023.^[18] Jandric would play in seven games for the Americans, recording no points, before being reassigned to Jacksonville on December 29.^[19] Jandric scored his first professional goal on January 3, 2024, and followed that up with a game winning overtime goal on January 6.

On January 11, Jandric was traded to the Laval Rocket in exchange for defenseman Noah Laaouan, and subsequently assigned to the Trois-Rivières Lions of the ECHL.^[20][21]

Jandric would notch three assists in six games with the Lions before being recalled to the Rocket on February 1,^[22] but was reassigned on February 3 without playing a game.^[23] He was recalled yet again by the Rocket on February 7,^[24] and made his debut against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on February 17 after an injury to Mattias Norlinder.^[25] Jandric then returned to the Lions on March 18.^[26] His final movement between teams for the season came on April 8^[27] and April 16^[28] respectively.

Jandric's younger brother, Steven, is also a professional hockey player in Finland for Lukko.^[29][30] While at UAF, he earned a degree in business, and had been working on a graduate degree in public administration while attending UND.^[1]

• Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database