Islanders sign Vande Sompel to three-year deal
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
It was a good news day for Oshawa Generals’ Mitch Vande Sompel on Oct. 12 after he inked a three-year entry level contract with the New York Islanders.
Picked in the third round, 82nd overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Vande Sompel tells The Oshawa Express the deal is the culmination of a process that began almost right after his name was called from the stage in Sunrise, Florida.
“It’s awesome. Growing up as a kid, you’re watching guys play in the NHL and it’s been a dream of mine, and I’m sure everyone here, since we’ve been little boys, so signing that is unbelievable,” he says.
The defenceman and assistant captain is currently in his third year with the Oshawa Generals, and so far has four goals and four assists in eight games played this season.
“Mitch joins a long list of Gens to be selected by the New York Islanders. It’s great he has this taken care of and he can now focus on having a solid 2016-17 season with the Gens,” states Roger Hunt, general manager for the club, in a news release.
And that’s exactly what Vande Sompel intends to do.
“It’s something that’s not in the back of your head anymore and I can just focus on hockey and helping this team win in anyway possible,” he says.
Along with Vande Sompel, most recently, former Gens’ captain Michael Dal Colle was picked in the first round, fifth overall by the Islanders in 2014. Former Gen and current Islanders captain John Tavares was taken first overall in the 2009 draft.
The Gens are back in action on Oct. 21 when they take on the Sarnia Sting at the General Motors Centre.