ORONO, Maine — Matt Mangene, a junior on this year’s University of Maine men’s hockey team, has signed an entry-level contract with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers.
“He’d been pursued quite aggressively by several teams in the second half of the season,” said Maine coach Tim Whitehead. “There were [about] a dozen teams.”
Junior forward Joey Diamond is also being pursued as a free agent, according to Whitehead.
“There’s been quite a bit of interest in Joe as well, but I’m confident he’ll be back with us next season,” said Whitehead.
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Mangene, who played both defense and forward for the Black Bears, projects to play forward as a pro. Details of the contract were not available.
“I would like to thank the coaching staff, my teammates, and the fans for the last three years at Maine,” Mangene said in a press release from UMaine. “It has been the best three years of my life. I am very excited to start my pro career in the Philadelphia Flyers organization.”
He will report to the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms in Glens Falls, N.Y., for the rest of the season, according to a news item on the Flyers’ website.
“He’ll finish the year with Adirondack, then have two years on his contract,” said Whitehead.
The Phantoms are fighting for a hotly contested playoff berth, sitting in ninth one point out of eighth.
The 23-year-old Mangene, an undrafted free agent from Miller Place, N.Y., scored 16 goals and had 18 assists in 40 games for the Bears this season.
In his three years at Maine, Mangene totaled 20 goals and 35 assists in 105 games. He also was assessed 110 penalty minutes over the three years.
Best known for his speed as a skater, Mangene also scored eight power-play goals for the Bears this season and led the Bears with two shorthanded goals.
Whitehead focused on two of Mangene’s attributes in particular that interested the pros.
“His skating catches everyone’s eye right away, but secondly is his competitiveness,” said Whitehead. “He never quits on a puck or a battle [for the puck].”
Whitehead also pointed out that Mangene’s speed has more than one dimension.
“Matty is a naturally good skater,” he said, noting his stride as a key. “Even better is his recovery. … He can bring it at high speed again and again. That’s a rare commodity in the game.”
Mangene’s game includes endurance and strength, said Whitehead, but his speed recovery “is a big advantage for him.”
The Bears advanced to the NCAA Tournament this year, where they lost to Minnesota-Duluth 5-2 in the first-round Northeast Regional game in Worcester, Mass., on March 24. Mangene scored the second of the Bears’ goals, giving Maine a short-lived 2-0 lead over UMD.
Maine finished with a 23-14-3 record and had a runner-up finish to Boston College in the Hockey East tournament before advancing to the NCAAs for the first time since the 2006-2007 season.
Mangene becomes the fifth Black Bear to sign a professional contract after the 2011-2012 season, joining Will O’Neill (Winnipeg), Spencer Abbott (Toronto), Brian Flynn (Buffalo) and Ryan Hegarty (Syracuse of the AHL).
“We have lost a lot of elite players over the last couple of years, starting with Gustav Nyquist,” said Whitehead. “The onus will be on the returning upperclassmen to step up their game.”
Whitehead is also confident about the Black Bears’ future.
“We have an excellent freshman class coming in,” he said. “We found a way [to move on] after losing Gustav early.
“That’s the lay of the land in college hockey now.”
Congrats Matt….was hoping you’d stick around and have a even better senior yr, but all the best in the pros……could be a thing to come with the upcoming senior class next year, but I hope not!
Thanks for the excitement and effort at UM Matt…..congrats on your signing anb best of luck in the future….will certainly be following your pro career…..
I was already concerned about next year’s team with the seniors that were leaving. Now I am really depressed.
I can’t help but wonder how we didn’t go further in the playoffs with so many players on our team that the pros were just waiting to snap up.
Good luck Matt. I think your decision is premature. Just take a look at a few others that have signed early and have been lost in the minor leagues. Unless you dominate why leave early?
Yes indeed…one name: Andrew Sweetland.
Agreed! He was a second line player, who didn’t even average a point per game. But, the reality is that he development in the Flyer’s organization is probably better than his development potential under Tim Whitehead. One thing he has going for him is his competitive nature and apparent ability to learn. So best of luck to him, wish he had a chance to have a “Spencer Abbott-like” senior year.
Good luck Matt. If I had a choice of $1,000,000 or play for Whitehead, I’d say Flyers.
gone abbott flynn oneill now mangene maybe diamond can already hear whitehead making excuses for next year when they lose. maybe whitehead shouldve recruited a deeper more talented team and played the underclassmen more not always one line doing all the scoring.
Congratulations Matt. Joining a good organization and you earned it the old fashioned way with energy and a compete level that was wonderful to see.You will be missed in Orono but you are leaving a great legacy of hard work and never giving up on any play. Looking forward to seeing you in Philly.Best Wishes to you and your family.
Oh my…I can hear the excuses coming now. “Sorry, it’s just not our year. We lost kids to the NHL…” blah blah blah…excuse for no less than three seasons.
Instead, it’s time for Coach Whitehead to show what he can do to bring the new talent along and contend next year.
Good luck Matt; we’ll miss watching you fly around the rink.
Looks like even the players know the writing is on the wall and it’s time to get there’s while they still can, because next season is going to be a nightmare.
Add in the addition Notre Dame and 2 other northeast programs emerging (Union & UCONN), and suddenly there’s a lot more teams to compete w/ in the recruiting world