Ty Smilanic became the highest drafted Quinnipiac player |
Quinnipiac freshman forward Ty Smilanic has been selected 74th overall in the third round by the Florida Panthers. The Colorado native becomes the highest drafted NHL draft pick in the programs history surpassing senior goaltender Keith Petruzelli who was selected 88th overall in the 2017 draft.
He finished the 2019-2020 season with 10 goals and 21 assists in 46 games played for the United States National Developmental Program. However, Smilanic was expected to go higher than the third round but injuries this past season caused his draft stock to fall. Still, the Panthers get tremendous value in the third round as they can await Smilanic's development under head coach Rand Pecknold for the next few seasons as he gets stronger and better as a hockey player.
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