Former Pittsburgh Penguins Elite forward Colby Saganiuk has signed with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League.
Saganiuk, 17, was the Otters’ second-round pick in the 2019 OHL Draft, but instead spent the 2019-20 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program. In October, Saganiuk committed to Penn State with the intention of joining the Nittany Lions in the Class of 2021.
Instead, the 5-foot-8, 154-pound forward will join the Otters and go the Canadian junior route. Saganiuk played 22 games with the full USNTDP squad, scoring two goals and recording five assists, and also played 37 games with the under0-17 team, scoring six goals and eight assists.
A native of Plainfield, Illinois, Saganiuk spent two seasons in Pittsburgh, playing 2017-18 at the bantam level and 2018-19 at the midget minor level, scoring 10 goals and recording 29 assists in 37 games for the Penguins Elite under-16 squad, helping it to T1EHL and USA Hockey championships.
The Otters are the only OHL team in Pennsylvania and had a pair of local players on the team last season in Irwin forward Austen Swankler and former Seneca Valley goaltender Aidan Campbell. Former Pens Elite winger Lucas Ross, the Otters’ second-round pick in the 2020 OHL Draft, has also agreed to play with the club in 2020-21.
Saganiuk is the grandson of former NHL winger Rocky Saganiuk, who spent the 1983-84 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
