Jr. Blues Sign Zach Howard to Tender for 2023-24 Season

Feb 20, 2023

Springfield, Illinois – The Springfield Jr. Blues, proud members of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), are pleased to announce that we have signed forward Zach Howard to a tender agreement for the 2023-24 season!

Howard is a native of New Richmond, WI and has split his 2022-23 season between Team Wisconsin and St. Thomas Academy. In 42 overall games he has registered 12 goals, 27 assists, and 16 penalty minutes

“We are excited to welcome Zach to our tender class for the upcoming 23-24 season,” said Head Coach Tyler Rennette. “He’s a talented young player who we are excited to see at camp this summer!”

Zach is in his third season with St. Thomas, having appeared in 67 games while scoring 24 goals and 29 assists. He’s also played for Team Wisconsin for the last three years after playing for the Green Bay Jr. Gamblers 14U squad. 

Howard is the third player to sign a tender with the Jr. Blues for the 2023-24 season as he joins Nick Bunch (Belle Tire 18U AAA) and Jayar Luedke (CarShield 18U AAA)

A tender is a contract, of sorts, a player signs announcing his intentions to play for that particular NAHL team and that NAHL team only. Once a player signs a tender with an NAHL team, his playing rights belong to that team within the NAHL and he may not be recruited by any other NAHL team.Tendered players are not eligible for the NAHL draft, which is held each year in the summer.