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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.
Monday February 20, 2017 TD Place, Ottawa Ontario Ottawa 67’s* (20-29-6, 8 th in Eastern Conference) Vs. London Knights (36-11-7, 3 rd in Western Conference) Claus Anderson-Getty Images This is game is a story of teams going in two different directions in the standings. London (6-4-0 last 10 games) is in the middle of a two game losing streak, but that does not take away from their stellar regular season that has them clinching a playoff spot over a month before the season ends. Ottawa (2-7-1 last 10 games) is in the middle of a 6 game losing streak and is in danger of missing out on the playoffs baring a huge end of season push. Skaters in the spotlight: Ottawa: Chris Martenet (Dallas Stars 2015 4 th round pick, #103 overall) - - Acquired from London at the OHL trade deadline ( http://www.ottawasun.com/2017/01/09/ottawa-67s-acquire-big-defenceman-chris-martenet-from-london-kni
"Canisius Wins 2013 Championship" Courtesy Canisius Athletics Round #2 Recap: #7 Mercyhurst (1) Vs. #3 Army (2) The Army Black Knights barely avoided one of the largest upsets of the tournament thus far by beating the Mercyhurst Lakers in a very close 3 game series 2 games to 1. On Friday night Army exploded with 6 goals to take game #1 6-4, the Golden Knights were lead by freshman forward Brendan Soucie with 2 goals. In game #2 it took overtime but Mercyhurst was able to pull out the victory and extend their visit to West Point for another day with a 3-2 overtime victory, Sophomore Forward Matthew Whittaker led Mercyhurst with two goals including the overtime winner. On Sunday night Army managed to sneak away with a 4-3 victory after being down 3-1 in the 2nd period. #8 Bentley (0) Vs. #2 Air Force (2) Air Force won the battle of the Falcons this weekend by sweeping Bentley 2 games to nothing to advance to Rochester. In game #1 Air Force scored 3 goals i
The Mississauga Steelheads defeated the Peterborough Petes 10-1 in front of 2,282 of their home fans. The Steelheads opened up the scoring at around the midway point of the first period and didn’t stop scoring until near the end of the second period, by that time the Steelheads where up 4-0. At 17:30 of the 2 nd period Peterborough’s Logan DeNoble scored his 32 nd goal of the season to break the Steelheads run, however this would be the only goal they would score all game. The Steelheads would continue to pour it on the in the third period, scoring six more goals before the end of the game. Mississauga was lead offensively by Michael McLeod 93 (3 goals, 3 assists) and Spencer Watson (2 goals, 2 assists) and rookie goaltender Jacob Ingham stopped 26 of 27 shots faced for the victory. Petes goaltender Scott Smith was left in for all 10 goals and only managed to stop 24 of 34 shots faced in the loss. This was the first win of the season over the Petes this
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