NEWARK, N.J. – Junior Aarne Talvitie (Espoo, Finland) will forgo his senior season in Hockey Valley and become the tenth Nittany Lion in program history to sign an NHL contract after agreeing to terms on a two-year, entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils the club announced on Thursday morning.
Talvitie's ELC is set to begin with the 2021-22 season. He has signed an AHL contract for the remainder of the 2020-21 season and will report to Binghamton once his quarantine period is complete.
Talvitie, who was drafted by the Devils in the sixth round (160th overall) of the 2017 NHL entry draft, joins Peyton Jones (Colorado), Cole Hults (Los Angeles), Evan Barratt (Chicago), Nate Sucese (Arizona), Brandon Biro (Buffalo), Andrew Sturtz (Ottawa), Casey Bailey (Toronto), Eamon McAdam (New York Islanders) and Vince Pedrie (New York Rangers) who also agreed to NHL contracts following their time at Penn State.
"Aarne has been a great student, a great player, and a great leader for us these past three seasons," mentioned head coach Guy Gadowsky. "We will greatly miss him as a person and for his example of quality toughness. We are proud that he is a Penn Stater and look forward to seeing all his success with the Devils."
The Espoo, Finland native served as an alternate captain this past season appearing in 21 games and finished fourth on the team with seven goals while adding six assists for 13 points. In his career, Talvitie appeared in 68 games scoring 18 goals with 30 assists for 48 points.
The junior forward became Penn State's first-ever World Junior Gold Medalist two winters ago when he captained Finland to the championship with a victory over Team USA during the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships in Victoria/Vancouver, British Columbia. Talvitie scored seven points in seven games during the tournament.
"My time at Penn State was more than I could've ever hoped for. The experiences I had will last a lifetime and I'm so glad that I chose to be a Nittany Lion," commented Talvitie. "All the support from the staff, my teammates and the whole Penn State community has helped me to take this next step in my career. I'm sad to leave Penn State behind but I know that I have learned how to be a better player and a better person. I'm honored to say that I will always be part of the Penn State family! WE ARE!"
