Defenseman Stu Bickel of the Gophers signed with the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL on Tuesday.

“I thought about it long and hard,” said the 6-3, 210-pound Bickel who had one goal and six assists last season as a freshman. “In the end, I thought it was the best decision [to sign]. I thought it was the right decision.

“I really enjoyed my time [at the University of Minnesota]. I liked the coaching staff. Obviously, the hardest part for me, by far, was leaving the guys on that team because of the relationships I had developed with those guys.”

He signed a three-year, two-way free agent contract with the Ducks and will probably be assigned to Des Moines of the AHL.

“It’s a big blow,” Gophers coach Don Lucia said.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 5:13 pm and is filed under Gophers men's hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.