Faceoff Factor

Curry-ing Favor: Pens Sign BU Goalie

Andrew Chiappazzi | National Hockey League

Jun 30, 08:30 PM | Hype this story!

With goaltender prospect and NCAA product Bobby Goepfert not expected to sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins, General Manager Ray Shero has apparently filled some netminder depth with another Hobey Baker finalist.

John Curry, a graduate of Boston University, reportedly signed a two-year deal with the Penguins. The transaction has not been announced and Curry did not attend the Penguins rookie workouts this week, but he is expected to fill a hole in the Penguins system.

Curry was a strong enough goaltender to be nominated along with fellow Penguins goalie prospect David Brown for the Hobey Baker Award in 2007. But a torn labrum in his shoulder persuaded NHL teams to stay away until now. Curry had been rumored to be trying out with other Eastern Conference teams, but the Penguins snatched him up.

Expect him to start out in Wheeling of the East Coast Hockey League while Brown starts at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. The start at the ECHL for Curry won’t be because of talent, but because of rust. Curry has the talent to play in the NHL.

According to the Boston University website, “The nation’s leader in shutouts this season with seven, Curry ranks fourth in the country in goals against average at 2.01 and his save percentage of .928 is good for sixth. His 13 career shutouts tie him with Jack Ferreira ’66 for the school record, while his career marks of 2.07 and .923 are the best in program history.”

Boston plays in the Hockey East Conference, which contains some of the best offensive prospects in the nation combating some of the best defensemen in the nation. The Hockey East is often considered the best on the eastern side of the Mississippi while the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is considered the best of the west.

For more on the mental makeup of John Curry, you can read a humorous article from the Daily Free Press, the student newspaper of Boston University. The article discusses Curry’s reputation for having a rather large noggin in size only, as he’s a humble and modest hockey star at a hockey-crazed university.