The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Conor Sheary to a two-year entry-level contract. Terms of the contract, which is a two-way deal, were not announced.
Sheary, who turned 23 at the beginning of the month, played his first season of professional hockey on an AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League last year. He is a skilled forward that profiles as a top-nine winger at the NHL level.
In 58 AHL games in 2014-15, he scored 20 goals and recorded 25 assists for 45 points, leading the team in goals and points. He also added five goals and 12 points in eight playoffs games to lead the Penguins in all three categories in the postseason.
Sheary, listed at 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, was passed over in the draft because of his diminutive stature, but the Massachusetts-Amherst graduate proved that he compete with professionals over the last season. He spent all of last season in Wilkes-Barre’s top six, splitting time between center and left wing. He finished eighth among AHL rookies in scoring.
Sheary is a native of Melrose, Massachusetts. His professional career followed four years at UMass, where he finished with 38 goals and 66 assists in his collegiate career. He was the team’s captain in his senior season.
Photo credit: KDP Photography
