Headlines

  • New York Islanders Sign Bo Horvat To Eight-Year Contract Extension
  • Washington Capitals Extend Dylan Strome
  • Mark Stone Undergoes Back Surgery, Out Indefinitely
  • New York Islanders Acquire Bo Horvat
  • Cole Caufield Out For The Season With A Shoulder Injury
  • Vancouver Canucks Extend Andrei Kuzmenko
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

20 Teams Interested In College Free Agent Neal Pionk

February 21, 2017 at 2:15 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 4 Comments

The NHL is a different place in 2017. With the advancement of analytics and systems, the increased speed and skill, and almost-extinction of the “goon” it’s like a whole new sport. Now, if you’re smaller than the prototypical center, or defenseman you have a chance in the NHL. You no longer have to be a hulking beast capable of rubbing people off the puck in the corners or protecting your star player with your fists. Or at least that’s what one college player is hoping.

Neal Pionk was passed over in his draft year due to his small size—5’11”, 170-lbs on the most generous of measurements—but is turning heads with his strong play at the University of Minnesota-Duluth as a sophomore. After scoring 17 points in an up-and-down rookie season, Pionk has 24 points in 30 games and is showing that he may be able to compete at the next level after all. Craig Custance of ESPN reports that as many as 20 teams have expressed interest in the Bulldog, including the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who can sign college free agents in March like any other team (provided their final expansion payment goes through without a hitch).

Pionk attended the Washington Capitals development camp in 2015 before heading to school. It will be interesting to see if Washington will be back in the mix to sign him when his season ends. The right-handed defenseman likely has so many suitors because not only does he possess the puck-moving skill that usually accompanies the smaller defenseman at this level, but also has a slight nasty streak that leads him to physically challenge opposing forwards as well. Some might liken his play to Connor Carrick of the Toronto Maple Leafs (and previously those same Washington Capitals), who doesn’t let his height dictate the type of game he plays.

While this year’s crop of NCAA free agents doesn’t have a huge name leading the way, players like Pionk can still be valuable assets to any team. Look for Vegas to go hard after several of them as it tries to add depth to a system that will have very little of it to start. The Minnesota native is already 21 (and will turn 22 in July), meaning he’ll have to adapt quickly to the increased difficulty of the AHL and beyond, but if that many teams are interested, he’ll likely have a fighting chance.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

AHL| Expansion| NCAA| Toronto Maple Leafs| Vegas Golden Knights| Washington Capitals

Montreal Canadiens Make Greg Pateryn Available In Trade
Main
Nashville Searching For Top-Six Forward, Hesitant At Asking Prices
View Comments (4)
newest oldest

Comments

  1. billysbballz

    6 years ago

    Rangers biggest need is a right handed puck moving D-man. Sign this cat and let’s win it all this year!!!!

    Reply
  2. Brown Trout Fisherman

    6 years ago

    Leave that little puke back in Duluth.

    Reply
    • Jared Running

      6 years ago

      Your the little puke hes on the number 2 team in country

      3
      Reply
  3. Robin Nord

    6 years ago

    As a Sioux Forever fan, Neal Pionk will be remembered as the goon who purposely rammed goalie Cam Johnson into the net. The . . . got a lousy 2 minute minor, not disqualified nor suspended. Add insult to injury the jerk assisted on two goals, including the game winner. Regardless of his numbers, a schmuck like that doesn’t deserve to wear any sweater. He’ll find out soon enough if he tries that in the NHL. If he gets that far. I’m sure the current and future members of the ’16-’17 team will be glad to remind him. UND has players on many NHL teams and scattered among the minors. Karma is a bi@#% and I hope he gets some.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

    Top Stories

    New York Islanders Sign Bo Horvat To Eight-Year Contract Extension

    Washington Capitals Extend Dylan Strome

    Mark Stone Undergoes Back Surgery, Out Indefinitely

    New York Islanders Acquire Bo Horvat

    Cole Caufield Out For The Season With A Shoulder Injury

    Vancouver Canucks Extend Andrei Kuzmenko

    Vancouver Canucks Hire Rick Tocchet

    Minnesota Wild Extend Matt Boldy

    Boston Bruins Extend Pavel Zacha

    Dallas Stars Extend Joe Pavelski

    Recent

    Florida Panthers To Activate Sergei Bobrovsky

    Nashville Predators Extend Cole Smith

    Peter Cehlarik Terminates Swiss Contract

    Five Key Stories: 1/30/23 – 2/5/23

    Sharks Trade Jaycob Megna To Kraken

    Snapshots: Penguins, Stauber, Avalanche, Duclair

    PHR Mailbag: Dylan Larkin Edition

    Minor Transactions: 02/05/23

    Arizona Coyotes Send Dylan Guenther To WHL

    Filip Zadina Activated, Sent On Conditioning Stint

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Coyotes Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version