Chris Jandric

Chris Jandric (born October 3, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League (AHL). He is a former first team All-NCHC member as part of the North Dakota Fighting Hawks.

Amateur
In his youth, Jandric typically played as a forward, like his brother Steven. Around the age of 10, he changed position to a defenseman, reasoning that his skating skills were sufficient and it would be easier to make rosters that way. In addition to playing tennis in high school, from 2014 to 2016, Jandric played junior hockey for the Cariboo Cougars of the BC Hockey Major Midget League (BCMML). He was the teammate of his brother Steven and future NHL forward Dylan Cozens. After his time in juniors, he spent time with the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) before committing, with his brother, to the University of Alaska Fairbanks of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). He worked out in the offseason at a CrossFit gym in Prince George, in order to physically keep up with the rigors of college hockey, and with an eye on constant improvement. He made the WHCA All-Rookie team and, in total, appeared in 63 games for the school. After the school opted out of the 2020–21 season due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Jandric took the year off in order to strengthen his body before transferring to the University of North Dakota. Jandric described the opportunity as "once-in-a lifetime" and stated his goal was to win the NCAA ice hockey championship. He would appear in 77 games over two seasons for the Fighting Hawks, tallying 5 goals and 48 points during his time there. He led the Fighting Hawks power play unit, leading to it having the second highest scoring rate in the nation, as well as leading his team in +/-, with +16. Jandric's coach Brad Berry described his speed and agility as "high end" and "elite". Jandric was selected to the 2022–23 1st team All-NCHC roster, as well as the Academic All-NCHC Team.

Professional
On March 27, 2023, Jandric was signed to a two-year contract by the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL), with a professional tryout (PTO) for the remainder of the 2022-23 season. In his AHL debut, he recorded an assist.

Jandric was one of 35 players invited to the 2023 Buffalo Sabres Development Camp, along with his former teammate Matteo Costantini, who was selected by the Sabres in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Jandric was also part of the roster for the Sabres' Prospect Challenge Tournament. Jandric was signed to an NHL tryout with the Sabres, along with numerous other members of the Americans, and was invited to the initial portion of the Sabres 2023 Training Camp, but was released from his PTO nine days later so he could take part in the training camp for the Americans. On October 9, the Americans announced they had assigned Jandric to the Jacksonville Icemen, who are the ECHL affiliate for the Sabres and Americans. Jandric recorded his first ECHL point on the Icemen's first goal of the season, with an assist. After recording a total of two assists in 6 games with the Icemen, Jandric was recalled to the Americans on November 6, 2023. Jandric would play in seven games for the Americans, recording no points, before being reassigned to Jacksonville on December 29. Jandric scored his first professional goal on January 3, 2024, and followed that up with a game winning overtime goal on January 6.

On January 11, Jandric was traded to the Laval Rocket in exchange for defenseman Noah Laaouan, and subsequently assigned to the Trois-Rivières Lions.

Jandric notched 3 assists in 6 games with the Lions before being recalled to the Rocket on February 1, but was reassigned on February 3 before playing in a game. Jandric was recalled again by the Rocket on February 7. Jandric made his debut for the Rocket against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on February 17 after an injury to Mattias Norlinder. Jandric was reassigned to the Lions on March 18.

Personal life
Chris is the younger brother of Steven Jandric, who plays in Finland for Lukko. While at UAF, he earned a degree in business in 3 years, and while at UND he was working on a graduate degree in public administration.