The Chicago Blackhawks handed a two-year, two-way contract to goalie Collin Delia on Friday.
Delia turned 23 about a week ago. He spent the last three years goaltending for Merrimack College, putting up nice numbers in Hockey East last season. As Second City Hockey notes, Delia’s put in the work in impressing Blackhawks brass during two prospect camps.
The netminder could be a long shot, although Second City Hockey posits a possible Scott Darling upside.
However, while goaltenders do typically develop more slowly than other players, it should be noted that Delia isn’t exactly a long-term project like, say, Wouter Peeters. But given that the Blackhawks’ goalie prospect list is basically just Peeters at this point, it makes sense to take a shot on Delia if the team liked what it saw earlier this month. Maybe he can be a Scott Darling-like steal.
Here’s the reported structure for the deal:
New #Blackhawks goalie Collin Delia has a two-way deal with a $675k NHL cap hit.
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) July 28, 2017
Really, though, the most exciting thing about him is probably that he hails from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. Apparently CSN Chicago’s Tracey Myers shares PHT’s amusement at that.
Collin Delia is from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. I just like saying Cucamonga :) #Blackhawks
— Tracey Myers (@Tramyers_NHL) July 28, 2017
Seriously though, it’s fun to say. Try it.