Eleven current or former Penn State hockey players will take part in NHL prospect development camp, an all-time high for the program that is entering its seventh year on the ice.
Draftees Evan Barratt (Chicago Blackhawks, 3rd Rd 2017), Cole Hults (Los Angeles Kings, 5th Rd 2017) and Denis Smirnov (Colorado Avalanche 6th Rd 2017) will attend camp with the teams that hold their NHL rights, while undrafted Nittany Lions Chase Berger and Alex Limoges will practice with the New York Islanders, Brandon Biro will head to Buffalo and goaltender Peyton Jones will work out with the Stanley Cup champions in Washington, D.C.
Incoming freshman Aarne Talvitie, a Finnish center, will head to New Jersey to practice with the team that took him in the 2017 NHL Draft.
Former Lions Trevor Hamilton (Detroit Red Wings), Eamon McAdam (Islanders) and Andrew Sturtz (Ottawa Senators) will all skate with the teams they’ve signed professional contracts with.
Rising junior center Nikita Pavlychev, a seventh round selection of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2015, will not be taking part in the Penguins’ camp this week in Cranberry. He has done so in each of the last two seasons.
Current players taking part in an NHL prospect development camp doesn’t effect the NCAA eligibility or NHL rights of those players, though undrafted prospects can choose to sign with an NHL team and forgo the rest of their collegiate career at any time they’d like.
