The Minnesota Wild signed forward Sam Anas as a college free agent in April. The diminutive forward uses his smarts and skills to overcome his size disadvantage.
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fills an organizational need for the
. He is a dynamic and highly skilled offensive forward that has scored at every level. The Wild do not have many players that can create offense in the blink of an eye.
The Maryland native finished his three collegiate seasons at Quinnipiac with 69 goals and 136 points in 121 games. He scored at least 22 goals and averaged more a point per game in all three seasons. Even before joining the Bobcats, the 23-year-old was scoring. He had 54 goals and 97 points in 115 games for the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL over two seasons.
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Despite his numbers, Anas has always been overlooked due to his size – 5-feet-8, 163-pounds on the Wild’s website roster. That lack of size led to just one offer from a college program.
“My assistant told me, ‘I got this kid from Maryland. He’s a little undersized,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said in an article in the Washington Post in January. “I asked, ‘How small?’ He said, ‘Small – really small – but he’s unavailable. He’s dynamic. He can play.’
“Most NCAA schools thought Sam was too small to play at our level, but he’s got the skill and hockey IQ to play with anyone.”
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Dobber Prospects updated their profile of Anas recently saying that he is “consistently a threat to wreak havoc when he’s on the puck but could better dominate the game should he elect to consistently harness his terrific speed.”
Hockey’s Future ranks Anas as the No. 2 right wing prospect on the Wild and view him as a potential second-line type player. They say that “he will be challenged in pro hockey due to his lack of bulk but there are few players tougher” than him.