Three Wave Alums Meet at NHL Training Camp

Jessica Fiddes

Posted July 19

Among players at the Pittsburgh Penguins camp last week, three were Green Wave alums.

Alex Velischek '09 was drafted last year and plays for Providence College.

The Penguins drafted Kenny Agostino '10 in fifth round this year. He heads for Yale in the fall to start his college career.

Based on his success leading the D-III Williams team this year Alex Smilgelski '06 was invited on a tryout to the Penguins camp.

Alex, #22, enjoyed meeting up with two more Green Wave alums at the Pittsburgh Penguins camp.

Three Green Wave hockey alums met up on the ice last week at the Pittsburgh Penguins prospect development camp. Two of the players, Kenny Agostino '10 and Alex Velischek '09, have already been drafted by the Penguin organization. The last, Alex Smigelski '06, a recent Williams graduate where he led the D-III hockey team, was invited to the camp as a tryout.

Three players from one high school at a single NHL camp has attracted some media attention and in a current article on NHL.com Delbarton is described as "a fertile hockey-producing factory." According to the reporter, "There is no greater indicator of the job (Green Wave Coach Bruce) Shatel is doing than this week’s Penguins prospect development camp, where three Delbarton alumni – Alex Velischek, Kenneth Agostino and Alex Smigelski – are all sharing the ice."

While Alex Smigelski graduated four years ahead of Agostino and they never played hockey together, he did overlap one year with Velischek, a defenseman at Providence College, who is good friends with Agostino. Agostino was drafted this spring in the fifth round of the NHL Entry Draft (the same round Velischek was drafted in 2008) and heads to Yale this fall to start his college career.

“That we are all here is definitely a tribute to our coaching staff,” Velischek said. “Coach Shatel is one of the best coaches around. This is definitely a tribute to the school and the area that New Jersey high school hockey is growing.”

Smigelski echoes Velischek's sentiments. “I give full credit to Coach Shatel,” Smigelski said. “He is really bringing in guys and he is really getting them to play tough games out of the conference and out of the state. They play the prep schools from New England and they have shown that they can compete with them. It’s been great to see the program take off since I graduated.”

Meanwhile the three Green Wave alums enjoyed the contact.“I always have trouble beating Velischek,” said a laughing Agostino. “I still can’t beat him, but it’s fun to go head-to-head.”

“It has been fun going against Velischek in some of the one-on-ones,” Smigelski said. “We did that a lot in high school and now five years later we are in Pittsburgh doing the same stuff. It’s been pretty cool.”

Smigelski was taking full advantage of the chance he had to make an impression..He told the reporter, “I’m just trying to give it my hardest every day and make a good impression."

The NHL.com piece concludes, "The future will tell the story of how well the impressions made this week by Velischek, Agostino and Smigelski will play out, but one thing we do know is to keep an eye on Delbarton High School after seeing the quality of talent the school is producing."

Go Wave Hockey!