Boston Bruins Sign Connor Clifton for Two Years

Photo: Alan Sullivan

On Thursday, May 3, 2018, the Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced the signing of defenseman Connor Clifton to a two-year NHL contract that carries an annual cap hit of $725,000.

During the 2017-18 season, Clifton could be found playing in 54 games with the Providence Bruins—AHL affiliate for the Boston Bruins. Throughout the season, the 23-year-old rookie scored four goals and earned nine assists for 13 points while managing a plus-11 rating and keeping his penalties to a minimum, having been assessed only 35 minutes in the season.

The Matawan, New Jersey native, who was originally selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the fifth round (133rd overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, played collegiate hockey for four seasons at Quinnipiac University from 2013-17. He served as captain of the team in his senior year, where he got seven goals and seven assists for 14 points, while serving only 82 penalty minutes. And it was also during the 2016-17 season that he and his Bobcats represented their ECAC division school in the second annual Friendship Four tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland., Quinnipiac advanced to the finals, defeating St. Lawrence in a 1-0 game decided in a shootout, only to fall to the University of Vermont Catamounts.

Throughout his four seasons with Quinnipiac, he played in 156 NCAA games, achieving a 19g-37a—56 points and a plus-39 rating. During his freshman year, in 2013, he was named to Team USA in the IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship, which took place in Sochi, Russia, where he and his fellow teammates earned the Silver Medal.