On Saturday, the Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced the signing of defenseman Jake Mendeszoon to a Professional Tryout (PTO).
Mendeszoon joins the Thunderbolts following the conclusion of his collegiate hockey season at Western New England University, where he played alongside recent Thunderbolts signing Nolan Dawson, with whom he tied the team lead in scoring with 15 points, and like Dawson served as an alternate captain. The Methuen, Massachusetts native played four seasons of college hockey with Western New England (2023-2025) and SUNY-Brockport (2021-2023), scoring 4 goals and 34 points in 97 regular season games. Prior to college, Mendeszoon played two seasons of college hockey with the New Hampshire Avalanche of the EHL between 2018-2020, scoring 11 goals and 60 points in 88 games, and won an EHL Championship in 2018-19.