Report: Isles, Panthers, Preds, Rangers pursuing UMass star Trivigno
College hockey standout Bobby Trivigno has no shortage of NHL suitors.
The Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, and Rangers are the finalists to sign the University of Massachusetts forward, reports the New York Post's Mollie Walker.
Trivigno has reportedly already met with the Rangers' front office. His former adviser, Brett Peterson, is an assistant GM for the Panthers.
He's one of 10 players vying for the Hobey Baker Award, which the NCAA hands out annually to its top men's hockey player. The 23-year-old tied for third in Division I with 49 points over 37 games during his senior year in 2021-22.
Trivigno would be the second UMass player in four years to claim the honor after Cale Makar secured it in 2019. Trivigno is the third Minutemen skater in that span to be named a Hobey Baker finalist, including John Leonard in 2020.
The undrafted free agent helped the Minutemen win their first-ever national championship last season, after which he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. The Setauket, New York-born winger also helped Massachusetts reach the national final in his 2018-19 freshman season.
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers eliminated the Minutemen in the first round of this year's NCAA tournament Friday, thereby beginning the Trivigno sweepstakes.
"Everybody can talk about Cale Makar, but the guy who will, for me, go down in history for changing this program is Bobby Trivigno," UMass head coach Greg Carvel recently told Walker.
"He's not the hockey player Makar is, but what he did for four years here - two Hockey East Championships, a regular-season championship, and a national championship - he is more responsible for the success of this program than any other player."
Trivigno would've taken part in the Rangers' development camp before this season, according to Walker. However, he wasn't allowed to because NCAA rules prohibit players from missing school for NHL events.
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