The Chicago Blackhawks have claimed defenseman Jaycob Megna off of waivers from the Seattle Kraken. Megna has served as Seattle’s seventh defenseman since being recalled on December 12th, though his only playing time this season has through an AHL conditioning stint that say Megna play two games, score one goal, and record a +3. Seattle traded for Megna at last season’s trade deadline, sending a fourth round pick to the San Jose Sharks that was used to select defenseman Luca Cagnoni.
Chicago will become the sixth NHL organization that Megna has been apart, though he’s only played NHL games for three teams – serving out minor league deals with the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche. Megna’s career kicked off with the Anaheim Ducks, who took him with the second-to-last pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. He turned pro quickly, making his AHL at the end of the 2013-14 season. He spent the next four seasons in the minor leagues, capping the stretch off with 27 points scored across 62 games – a mark that remains the most Megna has scored in any league since juniors. Megna played his rookie NHL season two years later, scoring four points and recording 12 penalty minutes across 28 games.
Megna wouldn’t appear in the NHL again until he earned a strong role with the San Jose Sharks for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, playing in 44 and 48 games respectively. Megna set an NHL career-high of 12 points in the latter season, adding 21 penalty minutes and a +6. He now joins a Blackhawks team that’s depleted of a lot of depth. He’ll look to carve out a role in competition with Louis Crevier and Jarred Tinordi.