Leaf prospect Jerry D’Amigo continues to build on a tremendous 2009-2010 campaign, taking home rookie of the year honours for the ECAC Hockey conference. Union College’s Keith Kinkaid and Harvard University’s Louis Leblanc were the two other finalists. Leblanc was also Montreal’s 1st round selection, 18th overall in the 2009 draft, which should give rough idea of the magnitude of D’Amigo’s accomplishment. Kudos kiddo!
D’Amigo is quoted here as talking about the award:
“It’s an honor. I was kinda surprised, but it felt good. It means a lot. It—s a great honor for me and the team, to be awarded top rookie and it shows my hard work paid off, maybe not from a team point. I had a pretty good season. I had my ups-and-downs but I had some great accomplishments. It was kind of what I had hoped for. I want to be a dominant player in the ECAC.”
Well, you’re certainly off to a good start buddy. Jerry has recorded 34 points in 35 games this season for RPI, to go along with 12 points in 7 games and a gold medal for Team USA at the World Juniors. The same article goes on to mention that D’Amigo will definitely be coming back for at least another season in the NCAA.
Here’s what I said about D’Amigo back during my 2009 Draft Review:
“This was an excellent selection by the Leafs this late in the draft, and was probably their best value pick as D—Amigo was slated to go somewhere in the 2nd or 3rd round on most draft boards. He made a lasting impression on most teams with an outstanding World U-18 tournament, where he was Team USA—s best player and leading scorer. He—s a little undersized, but is very strong on the puck, skates well, and has excellent goal scoring instincts. He—s a hard working forechecker whose style of play has been compared to that of Leaf prospect Dale Mitchell. One of the top names on my board still available at this selection.”
Notable NHL players to have won the ECAC ROY award include: Joe Nieuwendyk, Eric Perrin, Erik Cole, Willie Mitchell, and most recently Chris Higgins in 2002.
