Wednesday morning, before Sabres general manager Jason Botterill held his season-ending press conference, the team announced it had signed college free-agent forward Andrew Oglevie to a two-year, entry-level contract.
We've signed forward Andrew Oglevie to an entry-level contract.
Welcome to Buffalo, @AOglevie!
As a junior at @NDHockey, Oglevie served as alternate captain & ranked 2nd among Fighting Irish skaters with 39 points (15G, 24A), leading the team in goals for the 2nd straight year. pic.twitter.com/5WTu4uOKvu
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 11, 2018
Botterill Adding Depth
Oglevie, who will join the Sabres’ organization in the fall for camp, continues Botterill’s plan of re-stocking the pipeline of players in Rochester and developing from within. He joins an organization that is looking to rebuild through young players and will likely be given a realistic chance to make the roster out of training camp.
The centerman is a solid puzzle piece for the Sabres. The talented 23-year-old took some time to develop. He’s fast, strong and has a knack for where to position himself to make a play. He plays a sound, two-way game, and though he was originally thought to be a perimeter player, he has developed into a scorer.
Botterill continues to add talent anywhere he can find it. He previously signed Will Borgen and Casey Mittelstadt.
Oglevie: Skill and Irish Luck
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound is finishing up his junior year at the University of Notre Dame this year, where he served as an alternate captain. This season, he ranked second among all Fighting Irish skaters with 15 goals and 24 points for 39 points. It was the second straight year he led the team in goals.
He earned a spot on the NCAA All-Tournament Team after leading all skaters with seven points (three goals and four assists) in four games in the tournament. He had led the Fighting Irish to the finals of the Frozen Four, losing to the University of Minnesota-Duluth last weekend.
An OT Winner to send the Fighting Irish to the Frozen Four!
You are a LEGEND, Andrew Oglevie!! pic.twitter.com/fTDTeioTvf
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 26, 2017
Born in Fullerton, California, Oglevie totaled 89 points (41 goals and 48 assists) in 107 regular-season games with Notre Dame. He was named as the team’s most improved player following a sophomore season in which he posted career-high totals in goals (21) and points (41). He also won the NCAA B1G Sportsmanship Award.
Oglevie’s Upbringing
Oglevie’s mother, Maury, was the one who encouraged Andrew to get into hockey. While living in upstate New York, she was a New York Rangers fan–specifically a big Mark Messier fan. She introduced her husband, Andrew’s father, to the team when the Blueshirts made their magical run in 1994 winning the Stanley Cup in seven games over the Vancouver Canucks.
Andrew started playing hockey at the age of six. By the age of 10, he was on a Triple-A team that traveled all over the country and Canada for tournaments. By the age of 15, he enrolled in Culver Military Academy, a prep school in northern Indiana known for its hockey program. According to the Culver website, more than 175 collegiate players, including nearly 100 at Division I schools and nearly 30 NHL draft picks, can be traced back to the school. Among them are Gary Suter (1985-86 NHL Rookie of the Year), Kevin Dean (1995 Stanley Cup winner with the New Jersey Devils) and John-Michael Liles (2003 Hobey Baker finalist).
After only one season, Oglevie was selected with the 14th pick by the Cedar Rapids Roughriders in the 2011 USHL Futures Draft, the top amateur junior hockey league in the country. He played there for four years, putting up 53 points in 50 games in his final season.
