College Notes: Perunovich, Poolman, McLaughlin

Among the ten finalists for the Hobey Baker award, there are several seniors that don’t have much of a decision coming for them this summer. Their college careers are over, and they’ll be starting their professional careers in one fashion or another. Some of the others however, including St. Louis Blues draft pick Scott Perunovich, still have college eligibility remaining and could return.

The potential Blues’ prospect is one of considerable intrigue, especially after making a post on Instagram yesterday thanking his teammates and the Minnesota-Duluth program. For a player as accomplished as the UMD junior, signing his entry-level contract for 2019-20 and making his NHL debut was a possibility. With the season now up in the air, it’s unclear how the negotiations will proceed. The 21-year old defenseman had 105 points in 115 games at the college level and could be an impact player quickly for the Blues.

• Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports that the Calgary Flames are a frontrunner for the services of Colton Poolman, an undrafted collegiate defenseman out of the University of North Dakota. The younger brother of Winnipeg Jets defenseman Tucker Poolman, Colton captained UND this season and recorded 17 points in 31 games. Not quite as big as his brother, the younger Poolman is also already 24 and will have to cover a lot of development ground quickly if he wants to become a regular NHL player.
• Jake McLaughlin, another undrafted college defenseman about to turn 24, has minor league contract offers from six different teams according to AHL reporter Mark Divver. McLaughlin recently finished his senior season at UMass, scoring 14 points in 34 games. UPDATE (3/19): McLaughlin is officially off the market. The Amherst standout, who was one of the NCAA’s best defensive defenseman this season, has signed an AHL deal with the Vegas Golden Knights, per Divver. Seeing as this is a contract beginning in 2020-21, McLaughlin could technically be considered the first ever signing by the future Henderson Silver Knights, the soon-to-be-relocated version of the San Antonio Rampage, who were purchased by Vegas last month.