Hartford Wolf Pack Sign Defenseman Phip Waugh to PTO

The Hartford Wolf Pack signed defenseman Phip Waugh to a professional tryout agreement on March 20, with General Manager Ryan Martin making the announcement on behalf of the Rangers' top AHL affiliate.

Waugh, 26, arrives having already split time across two leagues this season. He played 11 games with the Abbotsford Canucks and three with the Hershey Bears for a total of 14 AHL appearances, while also logging 22 games with the Savannah Ghost Pirates in the ECHL, where he posted nine points on three goals and six assists. That's 36 professional games played this season before landing in Hartford.

The 6'5", 220-pound McLean, Virginia native is in his third professional season and carries 85 career professional games into his PTO at PeoplesBank Arena. His AHL résumé spans 17 games with three organizations: the Canucks, Bears, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, producing three career assists at that level. The bulk of his professional work has come in the ECHL, where he has recorded 19 points (6 goals, 13 assists) across 68 games over three seasons with the Ghost Pirates and the Wheeling Nailers.

Before turning professional, Waugh played three collegiate seasons at Mercyhurst University, totaling 11 goals and eight assists in 76 games.

The signing gives Hartford a physically imposing defensive option late in the AHL regular season. Waugh's frame and familiarity with AHL environments, however brief at each stop, fit the profile of a depth move designed to shore up the blue line as the Wolf Pack push toward the postseason. The Wolf Pack have developed several Rangers regulars through Hartford, including Igor Shesterkin, Will Cuylle, and Matt Rempe, and Waugh's PTO is the latest example of the organization reaching into the professional pipeline to fill a roster need.