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The Islanders have agreed to terms on a two-year entry level contract with center Kyle Schempp, a 2014 sixth round pick hot off an appearance in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Men's Hockey tournament.
Schempp will play the rest of the season for Bridgeport on an Amateur Try Out (ATO) contract.
Captained by Schempp, the Bulldogs upset No. 2 St. Cloud State over the weekend to advance to the West Regional final, where they lost to Denver. Ferris State went 19-14-6 this season and won the WCHA championship.
Schempp will forego his senior year to join the Islanders organization, as Penn State goalie Eamon McAdam chose to last week. The 22-year-old isn't a big scorer (29 goals, 37 assists in 121 NCAA games), but he'll get to jump immediately onto a Sound Tigers team in a desperate fight for the playoffs. They host beat Portland today in a game with huge post-season implications.
Update: Chris Dilks of SBN College Hockey has some more intel on Schempp's style in their write-up:
Schempp is a strong two-way forward with a knack for finding open space in the offensive zone and capitalizing when he gets quality scoring opportunities. He's not much of an offensive creator, but when he is set up with an opportunity, he has exceptional finishing ability.
Given the very recent events of an NCAA player slipping through a team's fingers by exploiting an NHL CBA loophole, signing even a distant prospect like Schempp is a nice little piece of business for the Islanders. Now we wait to see if he can step into the big time when he's needed or if he tops out as a place-filler.