The Ottawa Senators signed top NCAA prospect Max Veronneau to a two-year entry-level contract on Tuesday valued at $925,000 per year.

Player Background

The 23-year-old is a right winger who stands six foot and weighs 180 pounds. Veronneau has racked up 144 points over 130 games at Princeton University, giving him more than a point-per-game average. These point totals also rank him fourth among all-time Princeton scorers and include 52 goals and 92 assists.

Also during his college career, the forward finished second in Tigers program history with 92 assists and was second in NCAA scoring during the 2017-18 season with 55 points. Veronneau was nominated for the Hobey Baker Award, which is given to the top NCAA men’s ice hockey player in the nation, in each of the last two seasons.

Senators Very Excited

According to TSN’s Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, more than 25 NHL clubs took an interest in Veronneau. However, as the prospect narrowed his list of preferred destinations, it became clear the Senators were frontrunners to land him. After the signing, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion expressed his delight of landing the biggest college free agent available in 2019.

“We are very excited to have Max join the Ottawa Senators. We aggressively pursued Max, whose talents made him one of the highly sought-after college free agents available this year. He plays the game with tremendous pace and has terrific offensive instincts.”

Ottawa is in year one of a three-to-five year rebuild. This makes it an attractive destination for prospects hoping to earn a career in the NHL since opportunity abounds.

“Max will be given the opportunity to compete to be part of the Senators team, both now and in the future,” said Dorion.

Significantly, Veronneau is a native of Ottawa. He joins three other Senators who are locals on the NHL club. They are Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Cody Ceci, and Mark Borowiecki. The newly signed player will adorn number 14 on the ice and has immediately joined the team. He is expected to be in the line-up on Thursday night when the Sens welcome the St. Louis Blues on home ice at Canadian Tire Centre.

Two other Princeton prospects were signed by NHL teams on Tuesday. Veronneau’s former teammates Ryan Kuffner signed with the Detroit Red Wings, while Josh Teves joined the Vancouver Canucks.

Cover Photo Credit: Julie Oliver / Postmedia

Billy Morrison lives in Ottawa and covers the Ottawa Senators for Full Press Coverage. Follow Billy on Twitter, @BillyMorrison01.