Penguins get top prospect Calen Addison under contract
The Pittsburgh Penguins got top prospect Calen Addison under contract Saturday, signing the 18-year-old defenseman to a three-year entry level contract.
Addison is the team’s No. 2 prospect, according to The Hockey News, trailing only Providence College winger Kasper Bjorkqvist.
With 65 points in 67 games for Lethbridge, Addison was among the Western Hockey League’s highest-scoring defensemen this season. A second-round pick in the 2018 draft, Addison joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an amateur tryout contract on Friday.
Addison is the prototypical modern offensive defenseman, undersized at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds but talented with the puck.
“Really good hockey sense. Really good power-play guy. Really confident kid,” assistant general manager Bill Guerin said. “Skates well, moves the puck and plays with a bit of an edge, which is really nice for an undersized guy.”
Addison’s contract will kick in once he turns pro. He is expected to return to Lethbridge for another season of junior hockey next year.
Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.
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