3:21 p.m.: PuckPedia has the full details of Graf’s contract, which expires in 2026 and will make him a 10.2c RFA, meaning he’s ineligible to sign an offer sheet. The deal carries a $942K cap hit and breaks down as follows:
2023-24: $830K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $25K bonus for 5+ games played
2024-25/2025-26: $855K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $500K Schedule A performance bonus
11:57 a.m.: The San Jose Sharks have won the Collin Graf sweepstakes, signing the top free agent to his entry-level contract on Thursday per The Athletic’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link). Johnston adds that the deal begins immediately, opening the door for Graf to make his first NHL appearance before the year’s end. San Jose has eight games left in their season and sit confidently at the bottom of the standings, making now a great time to test out young players.
Graf earns a move to the NHL after a tremendous collegiate career. He kicked it off with one year at Union College, moving to D1 hockey straight out of the USPHL-NCDC – a rare and challenging jump to make. But he handled it in stride, scoring 22 points in 37 games as a freshman but missing the postseason. Perhaps inspired by their run to a regional championship, Graf decided to transfer to Qunnipiac in the summer of 2022. And to say he found a new layer to his game would be an understatement. Graf flourished under the guidance of legendary NCAA coach Rand Pecknold, exploding for 21 goals and 59 points in 41 games last season. He followed it up with an even higher scoring rate this season, netting 22 goals and 49 points in just 34 games. His career 1.44 points-per-game rate is the third-highest in Qunnipiac history, and the most any Cougar has scored since Chris Cerrella’s collegiate career ended in 2001.
Graf earns his keep on the back of a phenomenal shot, and fantastic awareness in the offensive zone. While not the most eloquent skater, he’s shown a great understanding of how to slide into the danger areas of the ice and exploit open space. The strong offensive toolset makes him a must-watch for defenders, often leaving teammates open and giving Graf a chance to use a passing ability that’s nearly as good as his shot. Keeping up with the tempo of play wasn’t always easy for Graf, and likely represents his biggest barrier in transitioning to the pro scene. But with an open role on a terrible team, it seems the sky is the limit for the red-hot Graf.
I guess he was only interested in signing with a team that would put him in the NHL ASAP? But good luck playing for one of the worst coaches in the NHL.
It gets him to free agency and big bucks sooner, how can you blame the dude
How do you get big bucks when you play for a crappy coach who doesn’t develop you properly? Sure 15:00min of ice time is nice but it’s not if you are -2 each game and can’t get a shot on net the other way.
Wow, a guy looking for the best opportunity to achieve his goal of getting on an NHL roster. Shocking that no other player ever thought of this.
Do the Preds ever win the sweepstakes on signing scorers out of the NCAA? :/
Yes. They won the Mark Mowers ‘Sweepstakes’ back in 1988.
Mowers was a Hobey Baker finalist that year.
From Pro Hockey Writers:
In 1998, the Predators hadn’t even played a game yet as a franchise. In fact, when they signed their first college free agent, Mark Mowers, the expansion draft hadn’t occurred yet. Mowers was a center who played for the Saginaw Gears of the North American Hockey League and the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League (USHL) before playing college hockey. He was never drafted, and afterwards played four seasons with the University of New Hampshire from 1994-95 through 1997-98.
He finished his college career with 85 goals and 197 points in 144 games. In 1994-95, he was named to the Hockey East’s All-Rookie Team and was the conference’s Rookie of the Year. In 1996-97, he was named to the conference’s All-Tournament Team and capped off his college career with an incredible 1997-98 season. He was an NCAA (East) first-team All-American and was named to the Hockey East’s second All-Star Team. Oh, and he was a Hobey Baker Award finalist as the nation’s top college hockey player, losing to Chris Drury.
Can we do this century? :/
Cole Smith from UND
I said a scorer. :/
I’m genuinely surprised he would pick them over a team like Pittsburgh. He would have a had a chance to play in the NHL with the penguins too, but at least they aren’t an abysmal organization with no direction.