The Steinbach Pistons are excited to announce that 19 year-old forward Tyler Penner has committed to the Colgate University of the NCAA Division 1.
Penner returned to Steinbach late Wednesday with a huge smile on his face after taking a quick trip to upstate New York to get a taste of what life would be like at Colgate. He said it didn’t take long and he knew that Colgate was where he wanted to be.
“You got out there and you have to imagine spending four years of your life in the same spot,” said the Winnipeg product, who used that time to meet the coaches and players. “Everything fit together perfectly.”
The news of Penner committing to Colgate comes right on the heels of Nick Deery’s Division 1 commitment at the end of last week. The Pistons organization couldn’t be more pleased with the recent success of their players.
“It’s been a great week for us,” said Pistons Head Coach and General Manager Paul Dyck about the memorable week. “We have been working towards this and our players have been too. Hopefully, we can carry some momentum forward with this and we have a few other players who are also garnering some interest.”
Normally this kind of news means an organization will be without one of their best players the following season, but that won’t be the case with Penner.
“They [Colgate] said that they are more or less set for next year and I would come in for the 2016-2017 season,” commented Penner about receiving the news he won’t be leaving the automobile city just yet. “That’s fine with me because that means I get to play one more year of junior hockey in Steinbach, which is a place I love.”
Penner showed up in Steinbach in the midst of Steinbach’s memorable 2012-2013 championship run as an alternate player in round two of the playoffs. He kicked off his junior career with a championship and a trip to the very first Western Canada Cup in Nanaimo, British Columbia before he was technically considered a rookie.
His work ethic, responsible defensive play and grades in the classroom were never in question, but there were some who asked if he could be an offensive threat at the MJHL level. Penner has proved this year that there is very little to question in his game. He currently leads the Pistons and is 3rd in the MJHL in scoring with 29 goals 25 assists for 54 points in 44 games.
Penner is now the Pistons’ third NCAA Division 1 commitment along with Deery and alumni defenseman Justin Baudry. Colgate is currently ranked 15th out of 59 NCAA Division 1 schools with a 14-7-1 record so far this season.