Jacob Bryson

Jacob Bryson (born November 18, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He played four seasons for Providence College, during which he served as team co-captain and was named to the Hockey East First Team Hockey All-Star and American Hockey Coaches Association Second-Team All-American.

Bryson was born on November 18, 1997, in London, Ontario, to parents Nancy and Dean.

He learned to play ice hockey through his father alongside his brother Ty and cousins Ella and Mitchell Vande Sompel.

Growing up in London, Bryson played for numerous local teams before enrolling at Loomis Chaffee School.

He played alongside his cousin on the London Gold Minor Midget AAA team and they were both named to the Minor Midget AAA All-Star Game in 2012.

After being passed over in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Bantam Draft, Bryson played with the Jr. Knights for one season and earned an invite to the OHL's London Knights camp.

During this time, he also competed in the Mass.

Tier I Labor Day Tournament U18 tournament which garnered the attention of John Zavisza, the head boys hockey coach at the Loomis Chaffee School.

As he was reluctant to join the OHL and give up his NCAA eligibility, Bryson competed with the Neponset Valley River Rats U18 team where he scored 12 points in 14 games.

At this time, he chose to commit to playing NCAA collegiate ice hockey for the Providence Friars at Providence College.

Bryson played at the Loomis Chaffee School for one season before joining the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the 2015–16 season.

During his time at Loomis, Bryson helped the Pelicans win the Founders League and the Avon Old Farms Hockey Christmas Classic and reach their first-ever Stuart/Corkery Elite Eight Tournament.

He then joined the Lancers where he made an immediate impact on the team.

By November 2015, the Lancers held a 9-6-2 record while Bryson was tied for second among USHL defencemen in scoring with one goal and 11 assists through their first 17 games.

He was subsequently selected for the 2015-16 USHL All-Rookie First Team.

While playing for the Lancers, Bryson attended Daniel J. Gross Catholic High School in Bellevue, Nebraska.

By January, Bryson led all rookie defensemen in scoring with 19 points and earned an invite to compete at the 2016 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

He finished the season leading all Lancer defensemen in scoring with three goals and 28 assists through 56 games.

His 28 assists also led all first-year defensemen and were fourth among all rookies.

Bryson played for the Providence Friars at Providence College from 2016 to 2019.

There, he enrolled in the Providence College School of Business and majored in Finance.

Following his freshman season, Bryson was named to the Hockey East Association's All-Academic Team for achieving a grade point average of 3.0 or better.

His overall play resulted in him being drafted in the fourth round, 99th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

He was subsequently invited to participate in their training camp in July.

After participating in Buffalo's training camp, Bryson returned to the Friars for his sophomore season.

He began the season strong by tallying assists in their first three games.

While playing alongside Tommy Davis, Bryson averaged 24 minutes of ice time, including time on the power play, while maintaining five assists through the first seven games.

As the season continued so did Bryson's production as he tallied three goals and a team-leading 18 assists through their first 30 games.

During this time, he also recorded his first multi-goal game in a 4-3 loss to Vermont on February 4, 2018.

Through the month of March, Bryson led all Hockey East defenseman with 13 assists through all conference games.

His increased development earned him recognition around the league and he was subsequently named a Division I New England All-Star and Hockey East First Team Hockey All-Star, becoming the sixth Friar defenseman in franchise history to earn this recognition from the Hockey East conference.

The following month, Bryson tallied career-highs in goals, assists, and points and received the Hockey East's Len Ceglarski Award.

He was also selected as an American Hockey Coaches Association Second-Team All-American for the first time.

Throughout the month of April, the Friars attempted to qualify for the 2018 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament but fell 2–1 in a quarterfinal matchup against Notre Dame.

Bryson finished his sophomore season with a team-high 21 assists and four goals while also recording eight multi-point games.

He also received the teams' Michael Boback Award for most assists and the team's Ron Wilson Award as Best Defensive Player.

After returning to the Friars for his junior season, Bryson was named team co-captain with forward Kasper Björkqvist.

Upon stepping into this new role, he began the season tallying 14 points through the teams' first 13 games to tie for ninth among NCAA defensemen.

His production continued to match his previous seasons as he tallied three goals and 15 assists by January and recorded six multi-point games.