Penguins A to Z: Corey Andonovski follows a familiar route for college free agents
With the Penguins’ 2021-22 season coming to a quick ending in the first round of the playoffs, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 55 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until the 2022-23 season — with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.
Corey Andonovski
Position: Right winger
Shoots: Right
Age: 23
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 195 pounds
2021-22 AHL statistics: Five games, zero points (zero goals, zero assists)
2021-22 NCAA statistics: 31 games, 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists)
Contract: Entering the first year of a two-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $925,000. Pending restricted free agent in the 2024 offseason.
Acquired: Signed as an undrafted free agent, March 10, 2022
Last season: Upon taking over as Penguins general manager in February of 2021, Ron Hextall had an early short-term goal of signing some of the top undrafted prospects coming out of the collegiate ranks that spring.
That pursuit resulted in a grand total of zero signings.
One year later, Hextall and his staff made amends by landing Princeton’s Andonovski, considered by some to be one of the 10-best undrafted college free agents in this year’s “class.”
Like all Ivy league athletes, Andonovski did not play at all during the 2020-21 season due to that league opting not to stage athletic competitions in any sport due to the pandemic.
Returning for the 2021-22 campaign, he led a poor Princeton team (8-19-2) in scoring while also leading the entire Ivy League in power-play goals with six.
After his season concluded Feb. 27, Andonovski had the option of returning to Princeton for the 2022-23 campaign due to NCAA rules related to the pandemic that permitted a “super senior” season. Andonovski declined that option and opted to turn professional. After fielding a number of NHL offers, he chose to sign with the Penguins on March 10.
In addition to his entry-level contract, Andonovski signed an amateur tryout contract (ATO) at the American Hockey League level with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the same day and finished out the 2021-22 season in Northeast Pennsylvania.
Making his AHL debut March 18, Andonovski appeared in five regular season AHL games, primarily playing a bottom-six role, then was a healthy scratch for all six of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s postseason contests.
The future: With the likes of Conor Sheary, Zach Aston-Reese and Drew O’Connor having all found a route to the NHL as undrafted college free agents, the Penguins have become something of a destination for players coming from the NCAA ranks looking to reach the pros.
That history played a role in them landing Andonovski, a power forward capable of playing either wing who possesses some scoring touch, skating ability and plays “angry” according to president of hockey operations Brian Burke.
Considering he has all of five professional games on his resume, Andonovski still has miles to go before he can even flirt with an NHL role. But considering how hotly pursued he was by Penguins management, he’ll be given every opportunity to succeed or fail with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2022-23.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.