Four University of Maine men’s hockey players — including all three co-captains — signed contracts with minor league hockey teams Wednesday and Thursday.
Senior forward Kyle Beattie and senior defenseman Mark Nemec signed with the Orlando Solar Bears of the East Coast Hockey League. Beattie was offered an Amateur Tryout contract. Orlando is the ECHL affiliate for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League and Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League.
“An amateur tryout contract is very common in the AHL and ECHL this time of the year for players who have exhausted their college eligibility,” said University of Maine head coach Tim Whitehead. “Both leagues feed into the NHL; it’s a great opportunity for these guys.”
Beattie scored six goals and recorded seven assists for the Black Bears this season, scoring 20 goals and recording 38 assists over his career. Nemec scored two goals and tallied two assists this season.
Senior defenseman Mark Cornell signed a contract with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. Florida is the ECHL affiliate of the Syracuse Crunch and Charlotte Checkers of the AHL and the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes of the NHL.
Cornell scored three goals while assisting on seven goals this year.
Senior forward Joey Diamond signed a contract with the New York Islanders AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Diamond scored 24 points, scoring 14 goals and recording 10 assists this season, with 104 points overall. Diamond scored 59 goals and recorded 45 assists. Diamond also holds the school record in penalty minutes with 467.
“A couple summers ago, Diamond and Matt Mangene went to the Islanders summer camp, and they both preformed very well so they’ve been interested for quite some time,” Whitehead said.
The Sound Tigers are coached by former UMaine star and Hobey Baker award winner Scott Pellerin. There are many former Black Bears in the Islanders organization, including General Manager Garth Snow and Sound Tigers goaltender coach Mike Dunham.
After losing in the Hockey East quarterfinals to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and leading their team to an 11-19-8 record, most of these players have left to join their new teams. But it is a great opportunity for them to learn at the pro level, according to Whitehead.
“It’s an exciting chapter for these guys, a great opportunity for them to get a taste of the pro game and gain some valuable experience, which will help them next year,” Whitehead said. “They might end up on these same teams — maybe different teams — but this has certainly worked out very well for some of our seniors in the past.”