GLENDALE, Ariz. – Senior Nate Sucese (Fairport, N.Y.) became the sixth Nittany Lion in program history to ink an NHL contract on Friday after agreeing to terms on a one-year, entry-level deal with the Arizona Coyotes that begins in the 2020-21 season the club announced. Sucese's signing comes two days after his roommate and linemate Brandon Biro inked a two-year deal with Buffalo.
Sucese joins Biro, Andrew Sturtz (Ottawa), Casey Bailey (Toronto), Eamon McAdam (New York Islanders) and Vince Pedrie (New York Rangers) who also inked NHL deals following their time at Penn State.
The Fairport, New York native became the fourth Nittany Lion in program history to reach the 100-point mark last March after a career-high 19 goal season where he added 18 assists for 37 points as a junior. During his senior season, Sucese set a career-high with 38 points on 11 goals and a career-best 27 assists.
The left shot centerman registered at least 29 points in each of his four seasons in Hockey Valley and leaves the program as the all-time leader in points (140) and goals (61) while ranking second in assists (79), shorthanded goals (5) and shots on goal (470) and a career plus-47 rating, good for fourth all-time as a Nittany Lion.
"We respect Nate as our all-time leading scorer but respect him even more for his mental toughness and competitive nature when it mattered most," mentioned head coach Guy Gadowsky. "He definitely played his best hockey at the end of this season in our most important games, we are thrilled for him and are excited to see his success with the Coyotes."
Sucese didn't miss a game during his final two seasons at Penn State averaging 1.03 points per game with 75 points in 73 games on 30 goals and 45 assists. His 147 career games played are tied for the third-most all-time in program history.
The senior's 38 points and 19 goals during the 2018-19 season rank tied for eighth and tied for fourth on the all-time single-season records list at Penn State while his 27 assists this past season were just one shy of Denis Smirnov's (Moscow, Russia) record of 28. Sucese's 36 points during his freshman season are the second-most all-time by a Nittany Lion rookie while his 17 goals and 19 helpers rank third and second, respectively, among first-year records.
Sucese was part of 85 career victories during his time as a Nittany Lion and helped lead Penn State to a Big Ten Tournament Championship (2017) and a Big Ten regular-season crown this past season as well as a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances (2017, 2018).
"It was truly an honor to be able to wear the Penn State logo the last 4 years," commented Sucese. "My time in Hockey Valley has been so special and I can't thank the coaching staff, my teammates, the roar zone and the whole Penn State community enough for making it that way."
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