3:15pm: Not only have the Penguins officially announced the contract for Frasca, but they have also signed Taylor Gauthier to a three-year entry-level deal. Both will start in 2022-23 and give Pittsburgh some extra prospect depth. Gauthier, 21, has been arguably the best goaltender in the WHL this season, posting a .932 save percentage through 28 games, winning 20 of those appearances. Since joining the Portland Winterhawks partway through the year, those numbers have actually only continued to rise, with a 13-1 record and .943 save percentage following the midseason trade. ’
While Frasca will likely end up starting with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, there’s a chance that Gauthier heads to the ECHL next season where NHL teams often send their raw goaltending prospects. Either way, Pittsburgh has nabbed another interesting name to keep an eye on.
11:15am: Teams are now allowed to ink prospects to entry-level contracts that start in 2022-23, meaning a rush of signings is likely to happen in the next few days. One of those is expected to be Jordan Frasca, who will sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins according to Darren Dreger of TSN.
Frasca, 20, went undrafted but is having an outstanding season for the Kingston Frontenacs, scoring 32 goals and 65 points in 44 games. His performance in fact has been part of the reason why some people have considered Shane Wright’s season disappointing. The potential first-overall pick in this year’s draft sits behind Frasca in the Frontenacs scoring race (while both sit well behind 21-year-old Lucas Edmonds, another undrafted forward that returned to Canada after several years in Sweden).
Set to turn 21 in July, Frasca will still be signing a three-year entry-level contract. It’s an impressive run for a player who wasn’t even drafted into the OHL until the seventh round of the 2017 Priority Selection, and had just 23 points in his first full season–then with the Windsor Spitfires. He’s now set to join an NHL organization, though it won’t be the first time he’s around professionals. Last summer, Frasca attended development camp with the Toronto Maple Leafs, something that likely helped fuel his dominance this season.
Draft picks are for suckers.
/high-five
Ha, draft picks are for suckers, part 2.
Seriously, trade your picks, field the best team you can and find prospects along the way. Between the absurd NCAA loophole and the late bloomers, you can find players.
Glad to see Hextall and Burke continuing Jimmy and Ray’s tradition.
The reason Pittsburgh is a very attractive spot for UFA prospects is specifically BECAUSE we trade all of our picks.
The problem is that the draft picks needed to draft these guys gets you a Gudbranson or Paquette in return.
You want Gudbranson again? Why? He didn’t fit last time he was here. What changed?
That’s my point. Those picks aren’t valuable when it comes to acquiring actual NHL ready talent.
Schultz and Hainsey were acquired with those picks. They turned out to be pretty valuable and have the rings to show it.
Perron and Brassard and Zucker weren’t actual NHL ready talent? Some bad fits and a DOG, sure…but pretty well established players.
And FTR, Gubrandson was actually pretty good here. And not acquired for a pick.
None of those players were acquired for 6th or 7th round draft picks. Undrafted CHL talent rarely turns out to be anywhere near the caliber of players that the drafted players in the range of the examples that you provided.
So Frasca improved greatly this season after participating in Leafs prospect camp last year…imagine how much better he can get after he attends prospect camp with a winning organization.