by Mike Ries, Staff Writer, AHL Report
BRAMPTON, ON. — Forward David Pacan of the Brampton Beast has always had a nose for the net and has produced at every level of hockey. This season is no different, as Pacan is currently second in team scoring. He is trailing David Vallorani by just two points despite playing five less games.
David has been the Beast’s most consistent forward all season long, and the team sorely missed him when he earned a professional try-out (PTO) with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. Since his return, the Beast have not looked back and have climbed from fourth in the standings, to challenging for the top spot.
Pacan is currently having his best offensive season in professional hockey, as he surpassed his total of 62 points last season toiling with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL. His 34 goals to date with the Beast are a franchise record and he will no doubt add to the total by the end of the season.
It is also a personal best for Pacan in professional hockey surpassing the 20 goals that he scored last season with the Stingrays. Pacan has always been known as a setup man rather than a pure goal scorer. That said, this season he has excelled at both. In my opinion, he is the MVP for the Beast this season.
Pacan began his hockey career at the University of Vermont after two seasons in the CJHL with the Cumberland Grads. In his second year with the Grads, he was selected in the sixth round (177th overall) by the Chicago Blackhawks. He soon realized that the NCAA route was not for him and left for the OHL and the Niagara IceDogs in 2010-11.
The IceDogs were a team laden with NHL prospects, and Pacan fit right in and recorded 62 points in 65 games. After the 2011 OHL season, his rights were acquired by the Florida Panthers. He returned for his overage season with Niagara and led the IceDogs to the OHL final, recording an impressive 20 points in 20 playoff games.
Pacan was not offered a contract by the Panthers and became a free agent signing a two-year contract with the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. However, he spent most of the season in the ECHL with Cincinnati. This is a pattern that has repeated itself over the five seasons that David has spent in the ECHL. In four of the five years, he has had a cup of coffee in the AHL, only to be returned to the ECHL.
Pacan has been a proven point producer at every stop in his hockey career, and he has surpassed his personal best in points and goals this season. He has good size at 6-feet-3-inches and 218-pounds, and uses his reach with an active stick in the defensive zone.
He is a player that can be used on the power-play and the top line. Pacan has the ability to create offence from anywhere on the ice with pinpoint passing and great vision. He possesses good footwork and a good first burst.
What Pacan lacks to carry him to the next level and beyond is the straight line speed that is coveted by all teams in this day and age of hockey. That said, he has made a professional career at the ECHL level and at only 25-years-old, he has lots of hockey left to play.
Edited by Donna Sim
