Prospect Update: Jack Perbix
By Thomas Harrington
A fourth round pick from 2018, forward Jack Perbix just completed his junior year at the University of Minnesota, playing with fellow Anaheim prospects Blake McLaughlin and Jackson LaCombe.
Perbix has never been known for his offensive exploits, but did set career highs in goals, assists, points, and games played with five goals and 12 points in 38 games this past season. He spent most of the season as the team’s fourth line center. He was a healthy scratch for a game early in the season, but that was the only game he missed all season. Minnesota was 8-1 when Perbix recorded at least a point.
I had three sets of expectations for Perbix last summer, and while he didn’t quite meet all of them, he wasn’t too far off on any of them. First, I wanted him to play in every game. He was a healthy scratch once, but it’s a good sign to me that it happened early in the season and he was in the lineup the rest of the way. Second, I wanted him to increase his shot output. As a sophomore he had 39 shots on goal, but that dropped to 38 this past season. Finally, I wanted him to increase his offensive production. While they didn’t increase as much as I hoped for, it was good to see him go from nine points to 12.
Perbix will not be returning to Minnesota next year. He’ll instead be attending school at Western Michigan University. Hopefully a new team will mean new opportunities for him. However, Michigan is traditionally a very good team, so I’m not sure how many opportunities it will afford him. With a new team comes two expectations. First, I want to see him play in every game with his new club. Second, I want him to score at least 15 points.
As of right now, Perbix looks unlikely to make the NHL. However, if he can have a solid year with his new team, things could change quickly for him. Even though he doesn’t have a ton of offensive prowess, he’s a useful grinder and if he competes hard enough he could find himself in the NHL someday. If that does happen, it won’t be for a while. He’ll finish off his college career and then head to the AHL. If he can really shine with the Gulls, then he could get a shot at the NHL at some point in the next few years.
Perbix is currently unsigned and the Ducks hold his rights until August 15, 2023. If the Ducks don’t sign him before then, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent and he can sign with any team in the league. Perbix is known more as a defensive forward, but I think he needs to increase his offensive production this year if he wants Anaheim to sign him next summer. If he doesn’t, I think the Ducks will choose to let him become a free agent. However, if they think his defensive play is good enough even without an increase in his offense, then he still could be signed to a standard entry-level deal a year from now.
The next prospect update will be on Henry Thrun.
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Prospect Update: Sean Tschigerl
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September 23rd, 2022