Earlier this week, junior defenseman Jackson Dorrington became the second player from the 2024-25 team to sign an NHL contract as he signed an entry-level contract with the New York Rangers. The Rangers traded for the rights to Dorrington earlier this season in a deal that also brought J.T. Miller back to New York. Dorrington was originally drafted in the sixth round by Vancouver in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Dorrington leaves Northeastern after 105 career games, during which he was a mainstay in the lineup for three years. In his career, he showcased a blend of smooth skating, physical play, and the ability to both break the puck quickly out of his zone and up the ice while also putting up points to support the offense. As a freshman, he played on his natural left side but also spent time on the right side of the defensive pair with current AHL player Hunter McDonald, showcasing versatility and adaptability early in his tenure. He played a ton of minutes early on due to injuries to other members of the defensive corps, and quickly proved to be a reliable resource in his own end.
Sophomore year saw increased responsibility for Dorrington, and he would more regularly play on his natural left side in a pair with classmate Vinny Borgesi. As a sophomore, Dorrington doubled his freshman year output with 12 points including his first six goals as a Husky, the first of which came in the season opener against Stonehill. He set a new career high with 3 points in the Huskies’ 9-2 drubbing against RPI. He was third on the team with 49 blocks and only took three minor penalties all year, a bastion of discipline that kept him on the ice as much as possible.
As a junior, he was voted assistant captain by his peers and assumed the role of the Huskies’ top defenseman, replacing McDonald after he went pro. Head coach Jerry Keefe noted Dorrington’s offseason improvement early on, saying in our preseason interview “he just looks like a really confident player, he looks like a man out there.” Dorrington responded to the heightened expectations by once again posting a career year offensively, with 15 points (2 goals). One of his two goals came amidst tying a career high with 3 points in the Huskies’ 4-2 victory over Boston College at home. He also chipped in some extremely timely assists, including the primary assist on Dylan Hryckowian’s double-overtime winner against Merrimack and Cam Lund’s game-tying goal against Maine in the Hockey East Tournament. Personally, he also had one of my favorite plays of the year when his 120-foot pass met Ryan McGuire when the forward exited the penalty box and led him on a breakaway goal to put the Huskies up 1-0 against Quinnipiac, a lead they would never give up. He also led the team with 73 blocks this season, was third on the team in average time-on-ice with 23:36 per game, and was sixth on the team in shot attempts with 144.
Off the ice, Dorrington was a staple in the Northeastern student-athlete community and an incredible advocate for those around him. He was on the executive board of the Northeastern Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Lead, was side-by-side as a main character with the legendary Willie O’Ree at the Boston Bruins’ “Pass the Torch Jamboree” held at Matthews Arena over Thanksgiving weekend, and was a major part of the Huskies’ Breaking Barriers game on December 6th against UNH. The cousin of the late Art Dorrington, who was the first Black player to sign an NHL contract when he signed with the New York Rangers in 1950, Jackson now brings the family legacy full-circle as he embarks on his own career with the Rangers, hopefully completing it by playing in the NHL and finally getting the Dorrington name on the back of the New York red, white, and blue. Said Dorrington at the Jamboree event, “If I can make the NHL and carry on their legacies, that would mean the world to me.”
And now, Jackson Dorrington is one step away from doing just that. He will report first to Hartford, the Rangers’ American Hockey League affiliate, where he soon will make his professional debut and play out the remainder of the season on an Amateur Tryout Contract. Once his ELC kicks in next year, Dorrington will have every opportunity to earn that callup to Broadway. He leaves Northeastern a two-time Beanpot champion, a two-time Hockey East All-Academic Team honoree, and an ACHA/Krampade All-American Scholar in 2022-23.
In college sports, the word “culture” gets thrown around a lot. At Northeastern, Jackson Dorrington didn’t just continue the culture- he was the culture on Huntington Avenue.
Congratulations to Jackson on starting his professional career with the Rangers organization!
