Early departures - the "silly season" is upon us

You can keep up with all of the early departures here. Here is one of the bigger early departures, Merrimack College lost their top sophomore forward Stephane Da Coasta as he he will forego his final two seasons of eligibility and signed a entry level deal with the hapless last place Ottawa Senators.

Warrior Rink Rat --- Merrimack sophomore Stephane Da Costa will forego his final two years of NCAA eligibility after signing a contract with the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, according to multiple sources.

The Parisian-born center scored 90 points in 67 games with Merrimack College from 2009-11.

Da Costa will become the first Merrimack player since Matt Foy in 2007-08 to play in the NHL.

Da Costa is expected to make his NHL debut on Saturday (7 p.m.) against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Ottawa.

The Denver Pioneers got some bad news of their own as they were informed that Sophomore defenseman Matt Donovan has signed an entry level deal with the New York Islanders.

NHL.COM ---- On Wednesday morning, the New York Islanders signed yet another one of their 2008 draft selections to an entry-level contract. Matt Donovan, who spent the last two seasons defending the blue-line at the University of Denver, inked his deal.

“I’m very, very excited,” Donovan said when reached by phone. “I hope that I can play the same game that I’ve played my whole life, continue to play solid defensively and hopefully contribute offensively as well.”

While his entry-level deal will not kick in until the 2011-12 season, Donovan will report to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers immediately, where he will play the remainder of the 2010-11 season with the Islanders American Hockey League affiliate on an Amateur Tryout Contract.

“Starting now will just help me get my feet wet in my professional hockey career,” Donovan said. “It will help me figure out where I am and where need to be (talent and endurance wise), which will really help me figure out how hard I need to work this summer to make it to the Island.”

Silly Season continues, Bachman gone.

The WCHA continues it's trend of being raided by the NHL as the Colorado College Tigers lost their sophomore goaltender Richard Bachman who signed a professional contract with the Dallas Stars. For the Tigers this is a major loss because Bachman was one of the better goaltenders in the WCHA. This departure wasn't as shocking as others because of the play of Marty Turco in net for the Dallas Stars.

FRISCO, Tex. – The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has signed goaltender Richard Bachman to a three-year entry-level contract. Bachman recently wrapped up a two-year career at Colorado College, and will forego his final two seasons of eligibility with the Tigers.


Richard Bachman
“Richard had an outstanding, highly-decorated career at Colorado College, and he’s ready to take the next step into the professional ranks,” said Dallas Stars Co-General Manager Les Jackson. “He has an outstanding set of fundamentals and a very bright future ahead of him, and we look forward to his continued development in our organization.”

Bachman, 21, appeared in 35 games for Colorado College as a sophomore in 2008-09, posting a 14-11-10 record with a .914 save percentage, a 2.63 goals-against-average and three shutouts.

As a freshman in 2007-08, the Salt Lake City native was named the National Rookie of the Year by the HCA (Hockey Commissioner’s Association) and Inside College Hockey magazine, and became just the second player ever to be named WCHA Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season. The 5-11, 170-pound goaltender also earned First Team West All-America and First Team All-WCHA honors, and was named to College Hockey News' All-Rookie Team.

Early departures in the WCHA (6)

Alaska-Anchorage (1)
Paul Crowder, jr, forward, N.Y. Rangers

Colorado College (2)
Brian Connelly, jr, defenseman, Chicago Blackhawks
Richard Bachman, so, goaltender, Dallas Stars

Minnesota (1)
Ryan Stoa, jr, forward, Colorado Avalanche

MSU-Mankato (1)
Trevor Bruess, jr, forward, Washington Capitals

Wisconsin (1)
Jamie McBain, jr, defenseman, Carolina Hurricanes

It's official Stoa signs.

The silly season is upon us. This is the time of the year when college hockey fans have to sit on pins and needles hoping that their favorite player doesn't sign a professional contract and leave their favorite college hockey team. It's now official Stoa signed with the AV's. I suppose Brett Hextall won't have to worry about Stoa cross checking him in the back of the head anymore.

Ryan Stoa, who led the Gophers in scoring this season, has given up his final year of eligibility to sign with the NHL's Colorado Avalanche.

"When the year began I knew this was a possibility if he had a good season," Minnesota coach Don Lucia said. "He was ready physically and mentally for the pros."

Stoa, 6-3, 217 pounds, led the WCHA in scoring in conference games and was the team's captain. He had 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points in WCHA play, and 24 goals and 22 assists overall.
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"You don't replace a guy like Ryan Stoa," said Lucia, whose team's streak of eight consecutive trips of NCAA tournament appearances was snapped this year. "Other players will have to step up and improve their play. There is no reason somebody can't go from eight to 12 goals or from five to 10. We will do it by committee. We should have a pretty balanced team next season."

Here is the latest count. While Bachman isn't official yet I can't see him turning down the money.
Early departures in the WCHA (6)

Alaska-Anchorage (1)
Paul Crowder, jr, forward

Colorado College (1)
Brian Connelly, jr, defenseman
Richard Bachman So, goalie

Minnesota (1)
Ryan Stoa, jr, forward

MSU-Mankato (1)
Trevor Bruess, jr, forward

Wisconsin (1)
Jamie McBain, jr, defenseman