(FREDERICTON, NB) Forward Phil Maillet has become the fifth UNB men’s hockey alum in 13 years to sign a National Hockey League contract.
Maillet, the 2017 U SPORTS men’s hockey Player of the Year and Canadian university male athlete of the year, has signed a two-year deal with the Washington Capitals.
He follows Darryl Boyce (Toronto), Hunter Tremblay (Edmonton), Kevin Henderson (San Jose), and current Reds associate coach Rob Hennigar (New York Islanders), in signing NHL contracts.
“This is a big deal for our program,” said Reds head coach Gardiner MacDougall. “Phil, like the others before him, has proven you can pursue an education and achieve your hockey goals and dreams.”
Maillet spent four seasons as a Red, helping UNB win national championships in 2016 and 2017, and earning the Senator Joseph A. Sullivan trophy, as the top player in Canadian men’s university hockey, in 2017.
His play at UNB earned him an American Hockey League contract, and Maillet has spent two seasons excelling with the Ontario Reign, the top farm team of the Los Angeles Kings, before signing, as a free agent, with Washington.
“Phil left an outstanding legacy here at UNB,” said MacDougall. “His passion to win and high performance standards, which he established here, have now taken him to an elite level.”
“By signing with the Capitals, Phil is further opening the door for other Reds to establish themselves in pro hockey after their time here,” he said.
News of Maillet’s NHL deal came only days after word that former Reds defenceman Jordan Murray had signed a one-year extension with the AHL’s Belleville Senators.
Murray, named the top defenceman in Canadian men’s university hockey in 2016 and 2017 as a Red, has completed two full seasons with Belleville, the top farm team of the Ottawa Sentators. He is the franchise’s record-holder for goals (17), assists (32) and points (49) by a defenceman, and sits second on the team’s all-time games-played (112) list for blueliners.