Western Michigan University's Sam Colangelo has reinvigorated his NCAA career in his Senior season. Could he be destined for Anaheim to finish his 2023-24?

By any measure, the Anaheim Ducks pool of young players is deep and talented. A number of these players like Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov, etc. are already impact players at the NHL level. Others like Cutter Gauthier, Tristan Luneau, and Olen Zellweger aren’t too far behind. Players under 23 years old in the Ducks organization have a laundry list of accomplishments to their names; 10 World Junior Championship Gold Medals, 2 World Junior Championship MVPs (Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish), a Memorial Cup Championship (Nathan Gaucher), four Defenseman of the Year awards in CHL leagues (Tristan Luneau, Pavel Mintyukov, Olen Zellweger x2), a CHL Defenseman of the Year Award (Zellweger), etc. Understandably, there’s a lot of hype surrounding the future of the Ducks. One player, however, is having an under-the-radar big year at the NCAA level whose hype train is chugging along at a much lower volume. Sam Colangelo.

Colangelo, forward from the Chicago Steel of the USHL, was drafted 36th overall by the Ducks in the 2020 NHL draft. He was seen as a below-average skater who had all the other physical and mental tools to be an impact player at the NHL level. He plays a cerebral 200-foot style and can make plays on or off the puck in space or tight areas. He has a nose for the net, vision to find teammates anywhere on the ice with deft passes, and can play a power or finesse game.

He played only eight games in his COVID-shortened 2020-21 freshman season at Northeastern University and played seven games for Team USA in the World Junior Championships.

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In his Sophomore and Junior seasons at Northeastern, Colangelo tallied 21 goals and 30 assists for 51 points in 64 games. He wasn’t achieving what he wanted to accomplish at the NCAA level after three seasons and decided to enter the transfer portal.

“After the season, I kinda decided that I wanted to get a fresh start somewhere else,” Colangelo said in an interview with the Goal Horns and Fight Songs podcast. “I decided, with my family, that maybe getting out of Boston would be a good idea; getting away from home and challenging myself.”

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The Stoneham, MA native landed on Western Michigan University as his destination to play his Senior season of NCAA hockey.

“The way coach Fersch (Pat Freshweiler) has developed players over the last of couple years into players that have gotten NHL contracts definitely attracted me to the program”

So far, Colangelo’s decision to transfer has paid off. He’s scored 35 points in 28 games (including seven in his last three) and Western Michigan sits in eighth in the 2023-24 NCAA rankings. He has been put in a position to succeed and is taking every advantage of it while showcasing his array of talent.

Colangelo could be a huge addition to an already deep pipeline of young players in Anaheim. He has the potential to bring something to the table that is lacking in that system; a true and consistent right-shot scoring threat.

Colangelo is eligible to sign his ELC after Western Michigan University’s season is over. If he isn’t offered a contract by Pat Verbeek or elects not to sign, he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 15. 

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