Burnaby defenceman Joey LaLeggia agreed to a two-year entry level contract with the Edmonton Oilers today (Tuesday).
The 22-year-old University of Denver blueliner played in 37 games this season with the No. 6-ranked Pioneers in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. He recorded 40 points, including 15 goals, 56 penalty minutes and a plus-14 rating.
LaLeggia is also a top-10 finalist for the 2015 Hobey Baker Award as the country’s top hockey player. He was named the NCHC player of the year, the NCHC defenceman of the year, as well as the offensive defenceman of the Year.
LaLeggia was also the NCHC defensive scoring champion by a margin of 13 points.
He was named the NCHC player of the month twice and the NCHC defenceman of the week five times this season.
Denver head coach Jim Montgomery said, "he's the most dominant player in the best conference in college hockey."
LaLeggia, a native of Burnaby, accumulated 132 points (49-83-132) in 156 games over four seasons with the Pioneers. He helped his team reach the NCAA regional finals this season.
It has been a successful career for LaLeggia, who was the WCHA rookie of the year in 2011-12, earning numerous accolades as a freshman. He was also the NCHC defenceman of the year and offensive defenceman of the year last season, before duplicating the results this year.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound D-man was selected by the Oilers in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft 123rd overall.
