Category: College Hockey Player

12Aug

Jason Pineo (34)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Juniors, Minor League Deal | Leave a comment

Niagara University Purple Eagles‘ senior center Jason Pineo(34) finishes up Atlantic Hockey play and signs a 1st pro deal with Wichita Thunder, a team fighting for their playoff existence.

The 6’2″ 201 lbs. forward had his best college season last year with 9 goals and 13 assists in 40 games.

He had 2 solid frames in juniors and won the 2019 OJHL Championship with Oakville Blades, scoring point-per-game numbers in the playoffs.

In 11 ECHL games, the 25 year old from Toronto, ON has 2 goals and 3 assists.

He should do ok in this league if he decides to stay and try to play himself up.

Through 71 games, he scores 13 goals and 14 assists, but is a -10, which hurts a little, but not bad for a rookie.

For 2024/2025, he splits for Erste Liga and signs with DVTK Jegesmedvek and we do look for him to do well here.

12Aug

Brendan Less (23)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Juniors, Minor League Deal, Transfers | Leave a comment

Quinnipiac University Bobcats‘ graduate defenseman Brendan Less(23) is definitely glad he added an extra session to his college game after entering the portal transfer from 4 years at Dartmouth College Big Green.

Tying his 2nd most, 31 NCAA Division 1 games played, he has exceedingly good new bests with 2 goals, 14 assists, 16 points and a big +28 rating.

The 5’11” 170 lbs. blue liner committed in his 2nd year at Choate Rosemary Hall without recording a lot of points, so they saw something more in his game they liked.

At 23-years old, it’s tough to say the route he takes after 5 years in the ECAC, but the Kinnelon, NJ native may find some space to grow his game as a pro.

After his team was eliminated from tournament play, the d-man signed an ECHL contract to join Worcester Railers.

He would appear in 6 games, grabbing a first pro point, an assist.

For 2022/2023, he signs with Jacksonville Icemen, a team he should gel well with.

He actually gets released from training camp and quickly inks with Iowa Heartlanders, where he should stick and do nicely.

In 22 games, he notches 4 assists, but Adirondack Thunder see something they can work with and sign him for 2023/2024.

Through a season high 44 games, he scores 2 goals and 11 assists with a +12 rating to easily gain an invite to return to continue wearing a Thunder uniform.

12Aug

Bill Sweezey (6)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Free Agent Signing, Juniors, Minor League Deal | Leave a comment

Boston Bruins sign hometown boy (Hanson, MA), 5th year defenseman Bill Sweezey(6) to a new 2-year, 2-way NHL deal after spending most of the last 3 years with Cleveland Monsters, under contract with Columbus Blue Jackets for the last 2.

The 6’2″ 205 lbs. blue liner originally signed his 1st AHL deal with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins during the COVID busted 2020/2021 after graduating Yale University Bulldogs before moving on to a similar deal in Ohio.

He only did 1 USHL junior run before college.

The 28-year old will likely spend most of his time with affiliate Providence Bruins, but that means hockey even closer to home.

12Aug

Tyler Heidt (7)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Juniors, Minor League Deal, Transfers | Leave a comment

Senior defenseman Tyler Heidt(7) decides to enter the transfer portal to do his final school year closer to home at University Of Regina Cougars after spending the last 3 seasons with Merrimack College Warriors.

The 6′ 190 lbs. blue liner isn’t exactly the biggest point getter with his best showing in a 1st campaign of juniors for Melfort Mustangs, where he scored 7 goals and 14 assists in 54 SJHL games.

At just 22-years old, he may find the net a bit more often near his back yard.

After a 2nd super productive frame in Canadian college hockey, scoring 6 goals and 20 assists in 28 games before turning pro, signing with Reading Royals to close out 2023. grabbing 4 goals an 9 assists in 18 games with a +14 rating.

He easily re-signs for his official rookie season 2023/2024.

Appearing in only 8 ECHL games due to injury, he doesn’t score any points and looks elsewhere, signing with Fife Flyers of the EIHL for 2024/2025.

12Aug

David Farrance (9)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Juniors, Minor League Deal, NHL Draft Pick | Leave a comment

Nashville Predators sign their 2017, 3rd round pick (#92 overall) Boston University graduate, defenseman David Farrance(9) to a 2-year entry level contract as he finishes up his 4 session at school scoring another more than point per game performance (5-11 in 11 games).

He had his best season as a junior in ’19/20, when he rocked 14 goals from the “point” to go along with 29 helpers through 34 games.

After a pair of campaigns with USNTDP, in the 2nd he amassed 30 assists to likely get him fully on the NHL club’s radar as well as his future college.

The 6′ 190 lbs. blue liner may report first to affiliate Milwaukee Admirals, but you can beat he will be fighting for a roster spot with the big club as soon as he arrives.

He would play 50 AHL games as a rookie, scoring 1 goal and 13 assists, but would not be given a qualifying offer to stay.

For 2022/2023, he signs a 1-year minor league contract with last year’s champs, Chicago Wolves.

After 14 games, scoring a goal and 4 assists, the d-man finds himself on the move, as Colorado Eagles see something they can use in his game and trade for him.

2 goals and 17 assists in 31 games and he is on the move, signing a 1-year deal with Toronto Marlies for 2023/2024.

He has mostly been loaned to affiliate Newfoundland Growlers, scoring 2 assists, but searching for something better finds it, signing with ERC Ingolstadt of DEL for the remainder of the session.

Coming away with 2 assists in 7 playoff games, he moves on to sign with KooKoo of Liiga for 2024/2025.

12Aug

Jack Dougherty (5)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Europe, Juniors, Minor League Deal, NHL Draft Pick | Leave a comment

6th year defenseman Jack Dougherty(5) heads back to Belleville Senators after only 1 AHL game with Providence Bruins.

He has signed with that team twice previous with decent enough results to stick.

The 6’1″ 211 lbs. blue liner was originally a Nashville Predators‘ 2nd round pick in the 2014 draft (#51 overall) selected after a solid USNTDP showing, then only one year at University Of Wisconsin Badgers before bolting to put up 41 assists with Portland Winterhawks.

He spent two years in the system before getting dished to Buffalo Sabres to play out his entry level deal.

It wouldn’t be entirely out of the possibility that soon the 25-year old from St. Paul, MN looks overseas for something a little more lucrative.

He has a pair of tough seasons through the COVID shuffle, but decides to stick around and signs his 1st ECHL deal with Orlando Solar Bears for 2022/2023.

This will likely be a very good decision for the now 26-year old.

He actually leaves for DEL near the end of this session, then signs with Nurnberg Ice Tigers for 2023/2024.

Doing just ok wasn’t good enough, so he takes his game to IceHL for 2024/2025, signing with Vienna Capitals, which should equal a lot of fun for him.

11Aug

Dan Renouf (77)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Free Agent Signing, Juniors | Leave a comment

6th year defenseman Dan Renouf(77) circles back to sign with Detroit Red Wings, the team he played a first NHL game for in his rookie season, 2016/2017, and returns with 18 games experience in the big league and 3 assists.

He has appeared in 279 AHL games, netting 10 goals and 62 assists with a +44 rating, and won the 2017 and 2019 Calder Cup Championships, first with Grand Rapids Griffins, then Charlotte Checkers.

The former University Of Maine Black Bears‘ blue liner signed his entry level deal after his third year at school.

We think the 27-year old could be in line for more time in the show with his “new” club.

The Pickering, ON native maybe did come away with as many points as he would have liked last season, but his +14 rating of on ice accountability makes him a cinch to secure a deal and Boston Bruins take that bet, inking him to a 2-year, handsome payout 2-way contract through 2023/2024.

He looked good on the final year of his deal, scoring a career best 5 goals and 16 assists with new high +34 rating in 63 games.

For 2024/2025, he signs a 1-year minor league contract to join Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 2024/2025.

11Aug

Rick Schofield (23)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Europe, Juniors, Minor League Deal | Leave a comment

13th year center Rick Schofield(23) heads back to Austria’s top league IceHL, signing with his 5th team Pustertal/Val Pusteria Wolves for 2023/2024.

He comes off a year with Nurnberg Ice Tigers, scoring 13 goals and 13 assists in 38 DEL games.

Undrafted, the 6’2″ 190 lbs. forward played 2 AHL seasons before heading overseas.

The former 2-time Lake Superior State University Lakers‘ captain and top scorer has almost maybe a bit oddly only won a championship in his 1st year away from home.

From Pickering, ON, the 36-year old is still finding good hockey to play.

He comes away with another fantastic season, but decides he wants to head back to Germany to play and signs with Dusseldorfer EG of DEL.

11Aug

Craig Needham (15)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Juniors, Minor League Deal | Leave a comment

Providence College Friars‘ graduate center Craig Needham(15) scored a college best 7 assists and 11 points last season.

The Medford, MA native was a point-per-game player in high school and scored decently in his 2nd USHL session as captain with Youngstown Phantoms before committing to school.

His team is knocked out of Hockey East tournament play immediately and he wastes little time to sign an amateur tryout with Florida Everblades.

In 11 ECHL games, he didn’t register points and has yet to appear in the postseason.

The 5’10” 181 lbs. forward is going to return for a full Everblades‘ rookie season, 2024/2025.

11Aug

Odeen Tufto(29)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Europe, Free Agent Signing, Juniors, Minor League Deal | Leave a comment

After a four-year career at Quinnipiac University, finishing with a 2020/2021 season NCAA Division 1 best 39 assists, center Odeen Tufto(29) signs a 1-year entry level deal as an unrestricted free agent with Tampa Bay Lightning and will report to affiliate Syracuse Crunch to see if he can add to that helpers stat.

The small 5’7″ 175 lbs. forward has always connected with the scoresheet in college play, 3 times with 30+ assists and 40+ points.

A Minnesota-native he spent a year in the BCHL before heading back “home” to join the USHL and skated with three different club s in a campaign before heading off to school.

He’s small but we have a feeling he will find his space to grab numbers.

Mostly shipped as a rookie to ECHL affiliate Orlando Solar Bears, where he was close to point-per-game player.

In 2022/2023, he was signed by Tuscon Roadrunners, but played 13 games with Atlanta Gladiators before heading to DEL2, signing with Krefeld Pinguin, getting 15 points in 12 games, then 11 in 12 through the playoffs.

He’ll return in 2023/2024, agreeing to terms with Iowa Heartlanders.

Through 29 games, he managed 3 goals and 19 assists, but isn’t great with his plus/minus and maybe gets a little bored, looking elsewhere and signs with EHC Olten of the tier 2 Swiss League, SL.

He will return for 2024/2025 after a successful little run through Switzerland’s hockey and signs with Fort Wayne Komets.