Angus Crookshank Signs Entry-Level Contract with Ottawa Senators
3/17/2021 6:57:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
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Crookshank inks three-year deal.
OTTAWA – University of New Hampshire men's hockey junior forward Angus Crookshank (North Vancouver, British Columbia) has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League that will start with the 2021-22 season. For the duration of 2020-21, Crookshank has signed an amateur tryout agreement and will report to the American Hockey League's Belleville Senators following a required quarantine period. Crookshank was selected by Ottawa in the fifth round as the 126th overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft.
"On behalf of UNH Hockey I want to congratulate Angus," said UNH head coach Mike Souza. "The Senators are getting a player that has an unrivaled desire to be an NHL player. Angus has been a tremendous ambassador both on and off the ice here at UNH and we are excited to have played a part in his development."
"Angus proved to be a dominant collegiate player," said Senators general manager Pierre Dorion. "We're pleased that he's made the decision to start his professional career which is what we believe is best for the next step in his development."
Crookshank continues the impressive history of Wildcats signing professional contracts as over 250 players have gone onto play professional hockey in the history of the program. He is the seventh player in Souza's first three years as head coach to sign a professional contract and the second to ink an NHL deal as Max Gildon signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers after the 2019-20 season. Crookshank at the Senators' Development Camp
A total of 46 Wildcats have played in the NHL, including five current players with James van Riemsdyk with Philadelphia, Trevor van Riemsdyk with Washington, Casey DeSmith with Pittsburgh, and Brett Pesce and Warren Foegele with Carolina. Three UNH Wildcats have played for the Ottawa Senators over the years with Bobby Butler, Jeff Lazaro and Steve Leach.
UNH has had 95 players selected in the NHL draft in program history, including six players on the 2020-21 roster - senior defenseman Benton Maass (Elk River, Minn.) by Washington, senior goalie Mike Robinson (Bedford, N.H.) by San Jose, Crookshank by Ottawa, junior forward Filip Engaras (Stockholm, Sweden) by Edmonton, junior goalie Ty Taylor (Richmond, British Columbia) by Tampa Bay and freshman Luke Reid (Warman, Saskatchewan) by Nashville.
Crookshank posted 35 goals and 28 assists for 63 points over 90 career games at UNH. His four career overtime goals were second in the nation by active players.
He was just recently named a Third Team Hockey East All-Star for the first time in his career. Crookshank tied for first on the team in goals (9), while he was tied for second in points (18) and was third in assists (9). He was tied for seventh in the league in goals.
As a sophomore, Crookshank led the team with 16 goals, while he added six assists for 22 points. Crookshank tallied 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points as a freshman as he was named the Hockey East Rookie of the Week twice and the Rookie of the Month for December.
