The Soo Greyhounds forward is expected to join the Friars following his junior career.
NCAA commitment season is seemingly non-stop, and another one has dropped on Wednesday morning, with Soo Greyhounds forward Colin Fitzgerald announcing his commitment to Providence College.
Fitzgerald, 18, was a seventh-round pick of the St. Louis Blues in this year's NHL draft, after splitting his sophomore OHL campaign between the Peterborough Petes and Soo Greyhounds.
The Petes selected the Peterborough native third overall in the 2024 OHL draft, with the idea of keeping a high-level local talent close to home as he developed into a star.
Colin Fitzgerald after being drafted by the St. Louis Blues. (Photo: Natalie Shaver/OHL Images)However, things never quite worked out like that. An okay rookie campaign came and went for the 6-foot-2 centre, scoring 28 (12+16) points in 48 games on a rebuilding team. But, as last season started with Fitzgerald still hovering around a 0.5 ppg pace, it felt like a change of scenery was needed to really start scratching at his potential.
So, to get him out of his comfort zone a bit, he was dealt to the Greyhounds. There, the production still didn't really follow, as he still recorded just nine goals and 11 assists in 39 regular-season games, and none in 10 playoff games.
However, Fitzgerald begun showing a bit more of his checking and power game, which is part of what got him drafted into the NHL in the end.
He's a big, powerful centre with a lot of good tools. There's a hard and accurate shot, a willingness to go in on the forecheck and lay the body, and can get to good areas in the offensive zone.
It's not immediately clear when Fitzgerald will join the Friars, but he's expected to play at least one more OHL season. In a potentially ideal world for the player, he finds his scoring touch in juniors next season, and then heads to college as a complete package who fits the identity of Providence very well.
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