Barber Signs Entry-Level Deal with Capitals
4/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
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OXFORD, Ohio – Junior forward Riley Barber (Pittsburgh, Pa./USNTDP (USHL)) and the Washington Capitals agreed to a three-year entry-level contract on Friday. Barber will forego his senior season with the RedHawks to start his pro career in 2015-16.
Barber is coming off a season in which he scored a career-high 20 goals to tie for the team lead his 40 points were second on the Red and White this past season. He finished the season on a career-best nine-game point streak, which was capped by dishing out two assists in Miami’s 3-2 win over St. Cloud State in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference Frozen Faceoff finals.
The Pittsburgh, Pa., native was selected by the Capitals in the sixth round (167th overall) of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft and enjoyed three tremendous seasons in Oxford. Barber became the first Miami skater in program history to earn Central Collegiate Hockey Association Freshman of the Year, earning the award following a 2012-13 campaign that saw him post 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists) in 40 games to help MU claim the CCHA regular season title and earn a spot in the 2013 Midwest Regional finals. He also paired with teammate Sean Kuraly on the 2013 US Junior National Team, which captured gold at the World Junior Championship that winter. He followed that up with a 44-point season (19g, 25a) in 2013-14 which earned him Second-Team All-National Collegiate Hockey Conference honors, a year where he returned to Team USA to serve as captain for the 2014 World Junior Championship.
In 116 career games, Barber tallied 123 points on 54 goals and 69 assists. His point total is tied with Enrico Blasi, Bill Easdale, Greg Lukas and Jeff Sisto for 24th in program history.
Barber is the fourth RedHawk to sign a pro contract this year. Senior captain Austin Czarnik inked an entry-level deal with the Boston Bruins while Alex Wideman and Cody Murphy signed Amateur Tryout (ATO) contracts with the Binghamton Senators (AHL) and Reading Royals (ECHL) respectively.
