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With the big club continuing to take guys away from them, the Providence Bruins are making some moves of their own.
Per AHL Transactions, the P-Bruins have added forward Karl El-Mir and defenseman Cooper Zech to the roster. The Zech addition is listed as a PTO, while Mark Divver reports that the El-Mir move is a PTO as well.
El-Mir is a 22-year-old wing who just finished his senior season at the University of Connecticut. El-Mir had decent numbers as a Husky: in 118 NCAA games, he scored 28 goals and added 34 assists.
His senior season was his strongest, however, as he had 27 points in 34 games, including a career-high 13 goals.
He’s clearly got a decent set of hands:
Karl El-Mir with #nasty goal for @UConnMHOC to tie the game 2-2 against #vermont #hockey pic.twitter.com/ZziJsca6Mx
— freddie matthis (@Lidvision) March 6, 2016
El-Mir is a Quebec native who played his prep hockey in Connecticut.
Zech is a bit of a different story. He’s only 20 years old, and just finished his freshman year at Ferris State. In his single college season, Zech recorded 28 points in 36 games.
Ferris State's Cooper Zech, arguably the best Freshman in the WCHA, signs a pro contract with the P-Bruins.
— 'Cats Hockey Zone (@cats_zone) March 13, 2019
Okay, not bad! Per MLive, Zech had the best points-per-game mark of any freshman NCAA defenseman this season. NOT BAD AGAIN!
Per Mark Divver, Zech’s situation is a little complicated.
Or maybe not. Now hearing word was out Zech willing to jump for AHL two-way deal. Wanted out at Ferris https://t.co/hOdL0L4et0
— Mark Divver (@MarkDivver) March 12, 2019
It looks like he’s with the club now on a tryout basis, but has already signed (or is going to sign) a pro contract that will begin next season.
While neither of these moves is super exciting, the Bruins did pretty well the last time they signed a 5’9” defenseman from a midwestern NCAA school...