HERSHEY, Pa. – The Hershey Bears signed their first player of the 2020 offseason by adding Minnesota Golden Gophers defenseman Tyler Nanne to an AHL deal for the 2020-21 season. Nanne was the captain of his Minnesota squad where he has played the last three seasons. He collected 14 points (four goals, ten assists) in 35 games for Minnesota in 2019-20. The 5’11” defender was previously drafted in the fifth round, 142nd overall by the New York Rangers in 2014.

Nanne finished with a plus-seven rating with the Gophers in his senior season, which is a career best. Minnesota’s season was cut short just before the Gophers would have been competing in the Big Ten semifinals due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, but was awarded Minnesota’s Elwin “Doc” Romnes Leadership & Sportsmanship Award. Nanne joins a Hershey blue line that is still as formidable as last year, but may see some changes coming up this season with a lot of free agent decisions looming. It will be interesting to see where Nanne starts in 2020-21.

Nanne also comes from a hockey family, with his father Marty previously playing for the Gophers. His grandfather Lou previously played for, coached, and was the general manager of the Minnesota North Stars. He is the cousin of former Gopher and current Hartford Wolf Pack forward Vinni Leteri.

Nanne had a multi-point night back on November 16 in a 6-3 loss to Penn State.

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