Buffalo Sabres Sign NCAA Champion

What are you going to do after you captain your team to the NCAA Frozen Four championship? Sign a professional contract, of course. Quinnipiac University Bobcat captain Zach Metsa has signed a 2-year AHL contract with the Rochester Americans, the Buffalo Sabres' AHL affiliate.

We have signed Quinnipiac captain and NCAA Champion Zach Metsa to a two-year contract 👏

The defenseman will join us in Rochester on a PTO for the remainder of this season.

— x-Rochester Americans (@AmerksHockey) April 13, 2023

Metsa will get an immediate taste of professional hockey, joining the Americans on a PTO for the rest of the season. The Amerks are going to the AHL playoffs, so Metsa will get a chance to bring home his second title of the spring. 

The Quinnipiac D-man had 121 points in 177 regular season games in his five seasons with the Bobcats. He had a career-high 28 assists and 37 points in helping lead his college team to its first NCAA title. 

In 2022, he led the NCAA in plus/minus at +38, and won the ECAC's Best Defensive Defenseman award. 

Last summer, Metsa participated in Buffalo's developmental camp on a tryout basis. Now, with a new deal, he'll add some much-needed depth to the Sabres' organizational defensive chart.

Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports