Washington Capitals forward prospect Ryan Hofer, who recently inked his entry-level deal with the Capitals on March 1, has become a very popular teammate amongst his fellow Kamloops Blazers, once word spread about his signing bonus.
“Oh, yeah. They’re all over us, me and Ryan, about buying them some dinner,” said Caedan Bankier, a 20-year-old forward who also signed an entry deal last week with the Minnesota Wild, a deal that includes a signing bonus of $92,500.
Hofer will receive a signing bonus of $80,000.
“I might go to Tim Hortons, maybe get them some Timbits,” Hofer said with a laugh. “I don’t know. We’ll see, but if we keep it going, they might get a good dinner,” Hofer told Kamloops This Week.
Both players signed three-year entry-level contracts worth more than $2.5 million, with base salaries of $775,000 in the NHL and about $80,000 while playing in the minors.
“I equate it to this,” Blazers’ play-by-play man Jon Keen said when asked to describe Hofer’s style of play. “Did you play Super Mario Bros. when you were growing up? It’s like Super Mario when he eats the star and, for 25 seconds, he just goes crazy out there, bumps guys off the puck and he’s glowing. That’s what he reminds me of. And he’s a good guy. He works hard every shift.”
Hofer hard work ethic is not surprising, as he comes from a hard-working family and upbringing.
“My dad owns a construction company,” said Hofer, a 6-foot-3, 192-pound left shot and hammer swinger. “I’ve been around that scene my whole life. He’s always been putting me to work and I feel like that’s where I found that hard-work mentality, the blue-collar, go-to-work kind of thing.”
Hofer told Kamloops This Week that he plans to be careful with his bonus money.
“Big time, yeah,” Hofer said. “It’s a lot of money and I’m still a young kid, too, so I’ve still got to learn how to handle it. Thankfully, I’ve got good people around me to deal with that stuff. I’m just going to invest it, maybe treat myself here and there, but nothing too crazy.”
The Winnipegger is a fan of Kamloops golf and might purchase new clubs.
Hofer played 36 games (23g, 13a) with the Everett Silvertips before being traded to Kamloops in early January. For the season, Hofer has 38 goals and 25 assists in 59 games played with the Silvertips and Blazers, including a hat trick with each team this season.
Hofer was selected in the sixth round (#181 overall) by the Capitals in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. The left-handed centerman is playing in his third season in the WHL as an “overager” for the Blazers, and will be looking to make the jump to Hershey next fall.
By Jon Sorensen
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Osh could probably advise him on the clubs.
Smart man. Save that $!
Still wondering whether he might be better suited as a wing, but we’ll see. He’ll likely have a spot on He shey in October
Yeah when you’re only getting about $100.00 spending money from WHL teams for pay ,signing bonus would be like lotto win!! Only league that treats its players worse is NCAA,in terms of rewarding players! If it wasn’t for billet parents & team pre game meal most of these players couldn’t afford to eat!