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Un-Drafted NCAA Stars Finding NHL Success in Pittsburgh
Credit Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Following the end of his senior season at Northeastern, un-drafted NHL free agent Zach Aston-Reese was being pursued by at least five different NHL organizations looking to sign him to an entry-level contract. Some of these teams included Arizona, San Jose, and Vancouver, all teams that he could theoretically sign with and begin playing at the NHL level right away. Aston- Reese instead decided to sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that he would have to scratch and claw his way just to crack the NHL roster over the course of the next few years. Why wouldn't he sign somewhere where he can make an immediate impact you may ask? The answer is simple, Pittsburgh has a history of setting NCAA free agent players up for success in the long run.
Credit Dubber Prospects
In recent history, two of the biggest NCAA un-drafted free agents that have had a massive impact on the Penguins organization are Forwards Carter Rowney and Connor Sheary. Carter Rowney, a North Dakota graduate at the end of the 2012-2013 season, started out his professional career by getting signed by Pittsburgh's ECHL affiliate. After two seasons of being sent up and down from AHL to ECHL Rowney finally got his shit in the big time as injuries began to stack up for the penguins. In x games with the Penguins this year Rowney has x points () and has played a key role as one of their bottom six forwards.
At just 5 feet 8 inches, Connor Sheary was never really looked at as a viable NHL player. Following his four years at UMass Amherst Connor Sheary was signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins and has become an integral part of the teams top six scoring forwards. Sheary helped the penguins win their fourth Stanley cup in 2015-2016 which was topped off by his Overtime winner in game #2 of the Stanley cup finals which can be seen above.
The unheralded success from un-drafted NCAA players in the Penguins organization should act as a beacon to upcoming graduates such as Aston-Reese and keep this talent pool deep for years to come in the Steel City.
2016 OHL Champion London Knights Credit London Free Press I'd like to start off this post by apologizing for not fully covering all of the first round matchup in their entirety, I haven't had the time to finish them off so I will briefly go over all of them right now: The Erie Otters were the first team to advance to the second round by sweeping the Sarnia Sting in four straight games. Peterborough was the next to advance to the second round with their four game sweep of the Niagara Ice Dogs. Sault St. Marie was the next team moving on to the second round of the playoffs with a four games to one victory over the Flint Firebirds. Owen Sound defeated the Kitchener Rangers in their first series four games to one. The Mississauga Steelheads doubled up the Ottawa 67's four games to two in order to move on to the next round of the playoffs. Oshawa won their first round matchup against Sudbury four games to two. Kingston came away with a four to thre...
The Greyhounds from Sault Ste. Marie only needed 29 shots on goal to score 6 goals and defeat the Kitchener Rangers by a score of 6-1 in front of home crowd of 3,800 fans. The Greyhounds opened up the scoring halfway into the first period when forward Bobby Macintyre scored on the power play and left-winger Boris Katchouk scored a shorthanded goal, the first of two for Katchouk that would end up being the game winner. Rangers right winger Joseph Garreffa scored their lone goal with 3 minutes left in the game, but it was too little too late at that point. Greyhounds rookie goaltender Matthew Villalta saved 40 of the 41 shots he faced for the victory while Rangers goaltenders Luke Opilka and LukeRichardson combined to save 23 of 29 shots in the loss. This victory pushed the season series between these two teams to 3-1-0 in favor of Sault Ste. Marie and the 5-year series to 12-7-0 in favor of the greyhounds. The Greyhounds next game will take place on the roa...
Credit Elite Prospects With the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea less than a year away and NHL still not having any set plans in place for their sending their players to these games, it is looking as if the biggest hockey league in North America will not be participating. This does not come as a huge shock to any around the game as for the past couple Winter Olympics there has been complaints from fans and owners alike that stopping the NHL season right near the end to go and play in international competition was too disruptive to the league and its players. Although this closes the door for any player under NHL contract from playing for any nation in these games, it opens the door for players who might not otherwise get this opportunity. Enter Ryan Zapolski ... Credit Getty Images An Erie, PA native and four year goaltender at Mercyhurst University Zapolski never really found any traction in North American Professional leagues after his graduation. Followin...
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