UND lands commitment from Miami goalie Ludvig Persson

GRAND FORKS — UND has landed its No. 1 goaltender for next season.

Miami's Ludvig Persson, who entered the NCAA transfer portal last week, has given a verbal commitment to play for the Fighting Hawks next season.

Persson was Miami's starter for the last three seasons. He has two years of college eligibility remaining.

"I'm very excited," Persson said. "I went on a visit and they really impressed me. I can't wait to go there and play and win some games."

Persson was on campus this week.

"Obviously, the facilities are unbelievable," Persson said. "Also, the culture and the vibe I was getting walking around the locker room, the campus, that winning culture they have. . . that's something I really wanted to be a part of. How they operate is elite. I'm very excited for that."

The 6-foot-1, 184-pound goalie from Hindas, Sweden, has been Miami's No. 1 starter since his freshman year.

Persson made his first-career start in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Pod in Omaha in December 2020. He played in 82 games across three seasons for the RedHawks, posting save percentages of .925, .894 and .891.

He also displayed game-stealing ability throughout his career while playing behind three last-place Miami teams. On Feb. 25, he stopped 50 of 51 shots in a 4-1 win at Minnesota Duluth.

Persson made three starts for Miami in Ralph Engelstad Arena, winning one.

"It's tough to come in there to play on the road," Persson said. "It will be really cool to be on the other side. I hadn't seen their locker room from that point of view (until this week) and I loved it. It's going to be really cool to be on the other side of that."

Persson said he got to meet some team members while he was in Grand Forks.

"They were awesome," Persson said. "They were really nice to me, welcomed me. I felt a really good vibe when I was there. That's something I value very highly. They're winners and they work hard. That's important."

The Fighting Hawks lost their top two goalies from last season.

Starter Drew DeRidder ran out of college eligibility, while sophomore Jakob Hellsten entered the transfer portal.

Persson will join Grand Forks native Kaleb Johnson in UND's stable of goaltenders. UND recruit Hobie Hedquist could come to campus in the fall. Hedquist also has one year of junior eligibility remaining.

Earlier on Thursday, Alaska captain Garrett Pyke committed to UND. Pyke is expected to be one of the anchors of UND's rebuilt defensive core next season.

"It's a winning program," Persson said. "I saw how they operate. If you work hard and use the resources you have, I'm very excited to see what we can do. I'm just going to work hard and take it day-by-day, but it looks really good right now."

After going in the transfer portal, Persson said he decided early that he wanted to remain in the NCHC.

"There were a lot of phone calls in the beginning," Persson said. "Once I kind of figured out and understood what opportunity I could get at North Dakota, and how much I liked it, it was an easy decision."