Capitals Sign Travis Morin, Steve Pinizzotto to Entry-Level Contracts

[VodkaFish]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Capitals have signed forwards Travis Morin and Steve Pinizzotto to two-year entry-level contracts beginning next season, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Both players have signed professional tryout contracts with Capitals affiliates for the remainder of this season – Pinizzotto with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League and Morin with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.

Morin, 23, was a ninth-round selection of the Capitals, 263rd overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft who recently completed his senior season at Minnesota State in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). A 6’2”, 195-pound native of Minneapolis, Minn., Morin was a second-team All-WCHA selection this season after leading the Mavericks in goals (17) and points (39) in 38 games. He had eight power-play goals, three shorthanded goals and three game-winning goals as a senior after leading the team in goals (20) and sharing the lead in points (42) with St. Louis Blues forward David Backes in 2005-06. Morin finished his collegiate career with 58 goals and 75 assists (133 points) in 151 games.

Pinizzotto, 22, was an undrafted free agent who spent the past two seasons at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) of Atlantic Hockey. Pinizzotto, a 6’1”, 195-pound native of Mississauga, Ontario, led RIT in scoring with 44 points (13 goals, 31 assists) in 34 games this season, a 31-point improvement over his freshman season. He had eight power-play goals and a team-leading 76 penalty minutes.

[muket_ball]

Good to see Pinizzotto get signed. Ive seen him play probly 60 times in jr and was a real good hockey player. I was surprised he never got a ride till after jr. Hope he makes it.

[jgdeadrabbit]

Great.Sounds like,judging on his pim totals,that Pinnizotto plays with an edge.

[BigCanada77]

I go to RIT and I've seen Pinizzotto play for the past two years, he's a beast. And yes he does play with an edge, always in other ppl's faces, crashing the net.

[probertisachamp]

Wow pinizzotto sounds like a beast and Morin judging from his stats looks like an alright player