There is quite the buzz about undrafted college free agent Collin Graf.
With his NCAA season with Quinnipiac University ending this weekend, the 21-year-old is now free to sign with any team he wants. And almost every team wants him.
Michael Russo has reported that nearly 25 teams – over 3/4 of the NHL, have pursued the two-time Hobey Baker nominee.
Graf just wrapped up his third year of college hockey. He began in 2021-22 with Union College, which saw him put up 11 goals and 11 assists in 37 games.
He then transferred to Quinnipiac University, where he really hit his stride with the Bobcats. Last season he recorded 21 goals and 38 assists in 41 games, and this season tallied 22 goals and 27 assists in 34 games.
He is probably the most sought after NCAA free agent on the market right now, and for good reason. He would instantly be a massive boost to any team’s prospect pool and has the chance to appear in the NHL rather soon.
Plus, his projections strongly suggest he should have a good pro career.
Graf holds all the cards in terms of where he goes. With so many teams interested in him, he can literally almost pick exactly where he wants to go.
What makes a free agent like Graf fascinating however is the fact that he has to sign an entry level contract. Unlike most free agents that can ensue a bidding war for their services, each team can only offer him the same maximum entry level contract, which clocks in at under $1 million per season.
Without the ability for teams to one-up each other with paychecks, teams must rely on the intangibles to lure Graf to their team.
He is a Boston native, which might cause him to sway towards the Bruins. He skated with the Nashville Predators’ development camp last summer as an unsigned invitee.
While almost every team in the NHL is interested, reporting from Frank Seravalli suggests that Graf would prefer to stay on the east side of North America.
While several teams in the Eastern Conference probably have better arguments for why Graf should sign there, I’m here to provide the argument for Pittsburgh.
The Penguins, as they currently stand, are not in a great position. They potentially might not have a first round pick, are on the outside looking in for the playoff picture, and are still one of the oldest teams in the NHL.
At the very least, their arrow is pointed down.
On the face of it, a lot of these things seem like negatives, but for a young free agent these might actually be benefits.
If Kyle Dubas wants the team to be competitive next season, there should definitely be some reworking of the Penguins roster, which means there will be open slots on the NHL roster.
For more contender-level teams, there may be less opportunities to get a serious look at the NHL level.
Dubas has previously stressed the want to rebuild on the fly, whereas the team gets younger while also still giving the aging core a chance to compete.
Graf could be one of the headliners on a youth movement for the Penguins that could see players like Sam Poulin, Jonathan Gruden, Vasili Ponomarev, and potentially others as well.
Of that group, and the prospect pool at large, Graf becomes one of the top prospects in a Penguins system that is consistently ranked near the bottom of the league.
Even with the Jake Guentzel trade that brought in Ville Koivunen, Cruz Lucius, and the aforementioned Ponomarev, Graf would still leapfrog a lot of the current prospects in the organization.
In the more immediate future, Graf could see time in a top six that still includes Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. With Guentzel gone (and presumably not coming back), there is an open spot on the top line. Drew O’Connor has filled in alright, but I think ideally he is not on the top line for the team next season.
Graf might not be an answer there either, but the Penguins could sell Graf on the potential to play alongside Crosby.
That’s hard to beat.
In the long-term future, there will be tons of opportunities for Graf to take a bigger role in the forward group as the Penguins are forced by father time to embrace their new era.
The Penguins, unlike a lot of other teams in the east, offer a plan to be competitive in the next few years, and then turn the keys over to the kids. That plan might not work out well, but it’s an appealing plan for a young free agent.
The Penguins can also boast about a history of NCAA signees who had success in Pittsburgh.
The aforementioned Drew O’Connor signed with the Penguins as a college free agent, and has really come into his own over the last few years. This season in particular, he has stepped up and grown into a larger role in Pittsburgh.
Other examples include forward Zach Aston-Reese, who played over 200 games for the Penguins. Defenseman Jack St. Ivany, though technically drafted by Philadelphia, signed with the Penguins before last season after finishing his college career, having never been signed by the Flyers.
O’Connor would be the best example for the Penguins to show Graf. He played NHL games in the first year of his contract coming out of college, and this year has set career highs last season and has spent a ton of time in the top six.
Graf will definitely have his pick, and his decision is expected to come in the next few days. I genuinely do think Pittsburgh provides a very good opportunity for him, but only time will tell what Collin himself thinks.
(Featured photo via ECAC Hockey)
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