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Van Riemsdyk the UFA Steal of the Year |
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All year long, you ask me who the sought-after college free agents are going to be and if you've been paying attention, I've been telling you that this year it's all about the blueline.
The big fish - literally - was 24-year-old, 6'3, 220 sophomore Christian Folin out of UMass-Lowell, who signed with Minnesota. He's a smooth skater who is positionally sound and has a hell of a shot. I was also singing the praises of Union's senior captain, Mat Bodie, for his leadership, offensive upside and ability to simply lock it down in his own end. In chatting with some scouts this week before the Frozen Four, they couldn't seem to get past his 6'0, 165 stat line....also known as the same stats he had four years ago as a freshman...also known as outdated. I'm willing to bump him up at least 15 pounds and fortunately, the Rangers were smart enough to actually watch him play and signed him to a contract earlier today. But for me, the UFA steal of the year is Trevor van Riemsdyk, the All American out of New Hampshire.
After a breakout sophomore season in which he earned 33 points in 36 games on his way to those All American honors, he was on pace to do the same , if not better, this year with 23 points in 26 games before he broke his ankle in January. For that reason, he's been out of the line up and flying under the UFA radar the past three months. Chicago signed him almost as soon as New Hampshire's season ended and I think NHL GMs are going to be kicking themselves 3-5 years from now that they didn't try harder to obtain his services. He's a fantastic skater with great vision, runs the power play, supports the transition game and jumps in offensively all while being defensively responsible and he has a brother who knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a successful NHL player. Depending on when he's back in his skates after recovering from his injury, he could see time with Rockford in the post-season.
On the offensive side of the puck, the Carey brothers, Greg (signed by Phoenix) and Matt (signed by Chicago) are the highlights of this year's crop of free agents.
Julie
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