Cam Crotty (5) skates in warmups before Red Hot Hockey against Cornell at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 30, 2019. Photo by Brady Gardner.
Boston University defenseman Cam Crotty signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday. The details of the deal have yet to be announced, in accordance with a team policy.
With the announcement, Crotty becomes the fourth Terrier to ink a professional contract this year, joining senior captain Patrick Curry (Grand Rapids), senior assistant captain Patrick Harper (Nashville), and freshman Trevor Zegras (Anaheim).
Crotty was drafted in the third round (82nd overall) by the Coyotes in the 2017 National Hockey League Entry Draft. During his career with the Terriers, the Greely, Ont. native posted 27 points (10g, 17a) to go along with 77 penalty minutes and a plus-11 rating. Serving as an assistant captain this past season, the right-shot d-man posted 4-5-9 numbers in 30 games after battling an ankle injury that caused him to miss four games in the first half of the season.
Crotty was named to the Hockey East All-Academic team for the 2017-18 season, and earned a Hockey East Top Performer award in December of 2017. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound blueliner brings a steady, reliable game to the Coyotes system, which is lacking in right-handed defensemen.
It remains to be seen if Crotty will make the jump directly into the Coyotes’ lineup or to the Tucson Roadrunners, Arizona’s American Hockey League affiliate, due to the pause of both the NHL and AHL’s seasons in the wake of COVID-19.
Make no mistake about it loosing a guy like Cam is big. His play on the ice and his leadership in the locker room will be missed. I think Cam will have a long career in pro hockey. He is a smart skilled defenseman. I would really like to see what David decides to do because that is another key player for us. When I saw Assistant captains were not announced last week I had my doubts of whether Cam was coming back. If David decides to return he deserves a letter on his sweater other leaders could be Amonte kid who would run through a wall for his teammates. Also Quercia hard worker and hard hitter who is invested in team first mentality also a dark horse is Witkowski a kid who has not gotten a lot of ice time but continues to always give it his all whether it be in the class room ice rink or the community. I also see Jake cracking the lineup next year and a kid who has gone through so much could provide valuable leadership to young terriers. Finally kasper low key kid who gets amped up when on the ice. He would make for a great captain. I look forward to seeing what takes place in the coming weeks for this team.
A wonderful person and player! Best of luck to Cam Crotty in the NHL.