Bobby Butler

FriedmanHNIC Ottawa Senators closing in on Bobby Butler, who led NCAA with 27 goals. Think they will beat out NJ, VAN and PIT for him.

As you can tell by the above Twitter message by HNIC’s Elliotte Friedman, the Ottawa Senators are apparently pursuing and are close to signing the University of New Hampshire’s Bobby Butler. According to hockeydb.com, Butler’s a 6’0″, 180lb forward who totalled 29 goals, 24 assists and 53 points in 39 games. Born in 1987, Butler’s only 22 and led the NCAA in scoring during the regular season with 27 goals.

You can read more about Butler here.

Whenever I hear about a prospective undrafted NCAA’er, I’m always reminded of that Brian Burke quote that said that signing one of these players was the equivalent of acquiring a second round pick. Considering Ottawa just dealt both of theirs in the respective Andy Sutton and Matt Cullen trades, adding a faux-second rounder to the roster might not be that bad. As long as expectations are tempered (Ed. note: Remember when Jesse Winchester was considered an offensive collegiate prospect?), most fans should appreciate that these undrafted, overaged NCAA’ers often fast track to the NHL quicker than the conventional second rounder.

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Bobby Butler

Alan Draper

Alan Draper

Alan Draper