Knapp Signs Contract with Buffalo Sabres
4/3/2012 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
April 3, 2012
BUFFALO, N.Y. - Miami University senior goaltender Connor Knapp is heading home after signing a two-year entry-level contract with the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League, Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier announced Tuesday. Knapp was a sixth-round draft pick of the Sabres in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Knapp's contract with the Sabres will not begin until next year however, as he joins the Rochester Americans, Buffalo's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, tonight and will stay with the team the rest of the season on an amateur tryout contract. Knapp, who hails from York, N.Y., will play close to home the rest of the year as Rochester is roughly 40 miles from his hometown. He is slated to wear No. 35 in his first pro hockey game tonight when the Americans battle the Abbotsford Heat at 10 p.m. ET in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The two teams square off again Wednesday. Knapp could make his home debut April 10 when Rochester hosts Grand Rapids.
Knapp had a career year as a senior at Miami, earning the CCHA's Best Goaltender Award while earning CCHA Goaltender of the Month in February and CCHA Goaltender of the Week four times. The 6-foot-6 netminder also earned INCH National Player of the Week twice this past season. Knapp posted a 1.69 goals-against average in 2011-12, which is a single-season school record and ranks third in the country, while his .933 save percentage ties the single-season program record and is fourth nationally. He posted five shutouts while collecting a 15-8-0 record in 24 games (22 starts). In league play only, he finished first with a 1.41 GAA (fifth in CCHA history) while his .945 save percentage was also first.
Knapp finished his RedHawk career with a 1.94 GAA, which is a school record, while his .918 career save percentage is second all-time at Miami. He played in 84 games, making 78 starts, while compiling a 46-22-11 career record with the 46 wins ranking fourth in school history. He also pitched a school-record 13 shutouts, breaking the record March 9, 2012 vs. Michigan State. His most memorable game, however, may have come in the 2010 NCAA Midwest Regional final when he made a career-high 55 saves to lead the RedHawks to a double-overtime win over Michigan, earning Most Outstanding Player of the regional.
With Knapp signing a contract, eight of Miami's 10 seniors have now inked professional deals, including defenseman Cameron Schilling and Chris Wideman, who earned entry-level contracts with the Washington Capitals and Ottawa Senators, respectively. Along with junior Reilly Smith, who signed with the Dallas Stars March 25, a total of 20 RedHawks have now signed NHL contracts since 2000 including four this year.
--MURedHawks.com--
