ALLEN, Texas — Jake Hildebrand has officially begun his professional hockey career.

The Center Township resident and Michigan State University senior goaltender recently signed with the Allen (Texas) Americans of the East Coast Hockey League and has already played a couple of games with the club.

“It’s definitely a step up (from the Big Ten),” Hildebrand said of the ECHL. “The players are smarter and it’s a much more physical game. Fighting is allowed in the league. It’s not allowed in the college game.

“It’s a great developmental league and gives me a chance to show what I can do.”

The 6-foot, 184-pound netminder turns 23 in June. His contract is for the balance of this season only. The Americans have five more regular season games remaining, followed by playoffs.

The Americans are in second place in the ECHL’s Central Division with a 37-23-3 record and are ensured of a playoff berth. The team is affiliated with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, but Hildebrand’s contract is strictly with the minor league team.

He will be a free agent at the end of the season.

“Every game is critical for me at this point,” Hildebrand said. “This is professional hockey and it’s cut-throat. It’s a business.

“You have to perform or you find yourself out of a job. It’s hard to project where I’ll go from here. Hopefully, I’ll raise my stock, develop my options and go from there.”

Hildebrand is 1-1 with a 2.01 goals-against average for Allen thus far. He made 32 saves in a 4-1 win and 44 saves in a 3-1 loss. His save percentage is a sparkling .951.

Hildebrand has contracted the services of Tom Lynn — a NHL Players Association-certified player agent — of Veritas Hockey. Lynn is a former assistant general manager of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.

“This is the way goalies are getting to the NHL now,” Lynn said of the minor leagues. “The days of 19-year-old whiz kids like Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur going right into the league are long over.

Mike Condon (Montreal) and Andrew Hammond (Ottawa) began in the ECHL and worked their way up. So have other goalies and Jake can do it, too.”

“I had some other opportunities with ECHL teams and teams in other leagues,” Hildebrand said. “The Allen Americans seemed to be the best situation to walk into.”

After being named Big Ten Goaltender and Player of the Year his junior season, Hildebrand put together a 10-22-3 record and 3.12 goals-against average as a senior for Michigan State. He posted three shutouts and a .904 save percentage.

“It was a difficult season,” Hildebrand admitted. “Things didn’t go the way we wanted. It just wasn’t a good year.”

Lynn said Hildebrand told him he wanted to continue playing this season after the Spartans’ college campaign ended.

“He was very disappointed with the way his senior year went, but Jake had an outstanding collegiate career,” Lynn said. “Now he’s got six to eight weeks to show what he can do.

“He’s not a big goaltender and NHL teams are frank about preferring size. But once you hit pro, it’s how well you play. If enough pucks hit him, he’ll wind up in the NHL.”

Hildebrand is continuing to take online classes and pick up credits toward his degree at Michigan State while playing hockey in Texas.

“I’m very confident that his play in the ECHL this year will lead to better opportunities next year,” Lynn said.

Three of Hildebrand’s Michigan State teammates — Travis Walsh (Missouri Mavericks), Michael Ferrantino (Toledo Walleye) and Justin Hoomaian (Kalamazoo Wings — have also signed with ECHL clubs.