Per Hockey Night in Canada‘s Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC):
Hearing OTT about to sign an interesting late bloomer — Cole Schneider from UConn. He’ll report to AHL Binghamton.
And…
Schneider wasn’t on anyone’s radar early this season, but there was some serious interest late.
So what do we know about Schneider?
Well, he’s currently a sophomore at the University of Connecticut. Elite Prospects lists the 21 year old Williamsville, New York hockey product at 6’2″ and 185 lbs. In 38 games for the UConn Huskies, the left winger tallied 23 goals and 45 points while racking up 35 PIMs. Apparently, his 45 points set a NCAA Division I record for the Huskies and he led his team in goals, assists and points.
His 2010-11 freshman season, in which he scored 14 goals and 33 points, was good enough to warrant being named to the NCAA All-Rookie Team.
I have to admit, I’m somewhat surprised by the move when I first read Friedman’s tweet, however, upon further reflection, it does make some sense. Not only does it fit with the organization’s intent to keep stockpiling young talent with upside, in light of the number of forwards that Ottawa has competing for roster spots next fall, it would not be surprising to see management parlay some of their NHL-ready quantity for some quality. By adding to this forward depth, it just puts the organization in a better position to do so without depleting the system too much.
As @steffeG and @Wham_City noted on Twitter, it’s interesting to note that Schneider led his teammates in scoring by a healthy margin – finishing 12 points ahead of their second leading scorer. Judging from the statistics alone, it seems like Schneider really carried his team.
Keep coming back since I’ll keep updating this thread as news breaks…
Update at 6:34pm: I was examining the Senators contract situation for next season. Assuming that Ottawa retains all of their restricted free agents, with the inclusion of Schneider, the Senators organization have 41 contracts for the 2012-13 season.
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