March 28, 2017
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Just days after his team lost to No. 1 Denver in the Midwest Regional final, sophomore Vince Pedrie (Rochester, Minn.) made the decision to forgo his last two seasons in Happy Valley and sign a professional contract with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League.
The deal is a two-way deal with the Rangers and their American Hockey League affiliate the Hartford Wolfpack. Pedrie will depart for Hartford later this week and hope to crack the lineup when the Wolfpack host the Hersey Bears on Friday at 7:15 p.m.
"Without Penn State none of this would have been possible," commented Pedrie. "I really utilized everything the university offered me from the great facilities to the coaching staff and the Morgan Academic Center, I couldn't be more thankful for my time here and everyone who helped me along the way."
In just two seasons as a Nittany Lion, the 6-0, 195-pound defenseman with an offensive skillset unmatched in the Big Ten Conference for someone in his position, set numerous records for the Blue and White throughout his career.
This past season Pedrie became the first Penn State blue-liner to earn All-Big Ten First Team honors joining only Casey Bailey as the other Nittany Lion to earn this recognition; he was also named to the All-Big Ten Tournament team.
Pedrie is also one of just ten players in the first five years of the program and the first defenseman to record a 30-point season as his 30 points tied for 12th nationally while ranking second in the Big Ten for d-men. His eight goals were the most by a Big Ten blue-liner alongside teammate Kris Myllari.
The sophomore's plus-27 rating was also third in the entire nation among defensemen only behind his defensive partner Erik Autio (plus-33) and Notre Dame's Dennis Gilbert and ranked tied for fifth overall. Pedrie's 12 power-play points (three goals, nine assists) was also the best in the Big Ten among blue-liners.
Pedrie leaves "Hockey Valley" ranked second on the all-time scoring list for defenseman with 52 points just eight shy of the 60 registered by Luke Juha '16 while his 16 career goals are the most for any blue-liner in Penn State's brief history.
"Vince has been a great player and representative of this program for the past two years, we wish him the best of luck in his professional career and he will always remain a Nittany Lion to us," stated Head Coach Guy Gadowsky.