OHL standout from Caledon inks NHL deal with Pittsburgh Penguins

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Published March 1, 2022 at 9:21 pm

Jordan Frasca, a 20-year-old hockey player from Caledon, signed with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. (Robert Lefebvre, OHL Images)

Caledon hockey forward Jordan Frasca has earned an NHL contract, near the end of a long OHL road that included an 18-month detour due the COVID-19 pandemic.

Frasca, who is a 20-year-old in his final season in the Ontario Hockey League, signed an three-year entry-level deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. The 6-foot-2, 184-pound centre has come into his own this season with the Kingston Frontenacs, emerging as one of the league’s top overage contributors. Frasca is 12th in scoring in the 20-team pro-development league with 32 goals and 65 points across 44 games. With over 20 games to spare, Frasca has already doubled his previous high in goals and 50-per-cent higher than his prior best in points.

The OHL returned to competition this fall after being on hiatus since March 2020. Frasca came to Kingston’s training camp last summer without a guaranteed job, since the Frontenacs initially had five 20-year-old players competing for the three overage roster spots allowed on each OHL team. Ultimately, Frasca started fast with multi-point efforts in four of Kingston’s first six games in October, illustrating that he was worthy of the role.

During the long pandemic pause, Frasca was able to find ways to train with his two hockey-playing younger brothers. His sibling Jacob Frasca is an 18-year-old centre for the OHL’s Barrie Colts, while their 15-year-old brother Gabriel Frasca is a forward for the Mississauga Senators under-16 team who is eligible for the next OHL Priority Selection draft.

Frasca’s breakout has also supported his’s team success. Kingston, whose core group also includes 2022 NHL draft prospects Shane Wright of Burlington and Paul Ludwinski of Pickering, is third overall in the OHL on point percentage at .670. However, one of the teams ahead of the Frontenacs is a division rival, the Hamilton Bulldogs, who have a five-point lead with 21 games left in the regular season.

The Mississauga Steelheads have the same number of points as Hamilton, but have played four more games than both the Bulldogs and Kingston.

(Cover photo by Robert Lefebvre, OHL Images.)

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