The NCAA has narrowed it down to just three Hobey Baker finalists, and two of them went undrafted. Zach Aston-Reese of Northeastern University signed with the Penguins, and already has six points in four AHL games. Mike Vecchione from Union College had 63 points in 38 games and is expected to make his decision any day now on where he’ll spend his first few professional seasons. Will Butcher, the third finalist and only defenseman, is heading to the Frozen Four with the University of Denver but is expected to be offered a contract by Colorado after his season ends.
Butcher had 36 points in 41 games, and could wait until August to become a free agent. Like Jimmy Vesey last season, Butcher would have many suitors for his services as he’s shown the ability to play at both ends of the rink and could contribute right away to an NHL team. We’ll see if Colorado can get him locked up, but the longer Denver plays the closer he gets to free agency without them even able to offer a deal.
- John Vogl of the Buffalo News reports that newly signed Sabres forward C.J. Smith will start his professional career with the team right away and will earn a prorated version of a maximum rookie contract of $925K for this season. He’ll earn the same next season, before becoming a restricted free agent in the summer of 2018. Smith scored 51 points in 41 games this season for UMass-Lowell, and decided to leave school a year early to jump right into the AHL. He was taking rushes alongside Zemgus Girgensons and Matt Moulson today in practice, wearing #49.
- Toby Enstrom has undergone knee surgery and will be out for the remainder of the year. The 32-year old has had a tough season, scoring a career-low 14 points while dealing with personal issues and a concussion. He has one year remaining on his current contract at a cap-hit of $5.75MM and has a full no-movement clause. It will be interesting to see if the Jets approach Enstrom to try and get him to waive it for the expansion draft, as they currently have too many defensemen to protect.