Pittsburgh Hornets Alumni Nate Guenin Signs Professional Contract with the Philadelphia Flyers !

Fred Shero, Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, Bernie Parent, Rick MacLeish, Ed Van Impe, Tim Kerr, Barry Ashbee, Gary Dornhoefer, Reggie Leach, Keith Allen, Brian Propp, Dave Poulin, Joe Watson, and Ed Snider have all played a major role in the glorious tradition of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL.

We are proud that former Pittsburgh Hornet R.J.Umberger currently plays a prominent role with the Flyers as well and we are so pleased to learn that former Pittsburgh Hornet Nate Guenin will join such a storied team as today the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have signed 6’2”, 210-pound free agent defenseman Nate Guenin (GEH-nihn) to a two-year Entry Level contract, according to club Assistant General Manager Paul Holmgren. Per club policy, financial terms were not disclosed.

“Nate is a big, rugged defenseman with a right-handed shot,” said Holmgren in making the announcement. “We look for him to come into our system and hopefully develop into an NHL player. We really like his tenacity and grit. We think that he is a good young prospect and we are excited about having him as part of our organization.”

Guenin, 23, recorded 11 assists and 87 penalty minutes in 39 games for the Ohio State University Buckeyes last season. The senior captain led the team in penalty minutes for the fourth consecutive season and was tied for third on the team in assists. Guenin received honorable mention in the voting for the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s All-Star Teams following the 2005-06 season.

He was voted “Hardest-Hitting Defenseman” and “Best Defenseman One-on-One” in the CCHA Captains’ poll for the 2005-06 season.In four seasons with Ohio State (2002-03 through 2005-06), Guenin registered six goals and 47 assists for 53 points and 400 penalty minutes in 151 career games. He completed his career in fifth place on the Buckeyes All-Time List in penalty minutes (400).

He was named to the CCHA Second All-Star Team following the 2004-05 season. Guenin served as team captain for the 2005-06 season after being an alternate captain for the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons.A native of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, Guenin was originally drafted from the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League by the New York Rangers in the fourth round (127th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Congratulations Nate on this tremendous achievement and best wishes for a great professional career from the Pittsburgh Hornets!