Sports
Merrimack Star Stephane Da Costa Headed to NHL
The sophomore, who has led the Warriors in scoring for two straight years, is going pro.
Good news for the Ottawa Senators, sad news for Merrimack College: Stephane Da Costa is headed north of the border.
Merrimack College’s top scorer for two consecutive years and the offensive force behind the Warriors’ best season in team history signed a two year deal with the Ottawa Senators yesterday.
The superstar college player will forego his junior and senior years at Merrimack to play in the National Hockey League.
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Da Costa was looking to get ice time. He was flexible in terms of dollars, but the sophomore wanted nothing more than to play right away.
At age 21, Da Costa had NHL teams visiting North Andover in each of his two seasons with Merrimack. He offered up a shot at the pros to come back to Merrimack for his sophomore season.
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Perhaps it was after he sprained his knee in the final game of the season against Notre Dame that he realized, this is a once in a lifetime shot.
In his freshman season, Da Costa lit up Hockey east scoring 16 goals. He had 29 assists for a total of 26 points on the year. He also took home the United States College Hockey Organization’s Rookie of the Year Award as well as Hockey East’s Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year honor.
This year he netted 14 goals and 31 assists totaling 25 points for the years. He was a Hobey Baker Award nominee and was named to the Hockey East All-Conference Second Team.
Da Costa, a native of Paris, France, is now under control of the Ottawa Senators. He is under contract for the remainder of this season as well as next season. At the conclusion of the 2011-12 season he will be a restricted free agent when his contract expires.
Ottawa signed their first ever French-born player with the addition of Da Costa.
Tomorrow, Da Costa is expected to make his NHL debut in Ottawa when the Senators take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. The game is at 7 p.m. and can be seen on NHL Network.
On Saturday, April 9, Da Costa and the Senators travel to Boston to take on the Bruins at 1 p.m. Da Costa, familiar with TD Garden, was there for the Hockey East semifinals and finals where he led the Warriors to a win over UNH and a loss to Boston College.
Da Costa will have to make the adjustment from a winning team to a struggling one. The Senators are currently in last place in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.
