Welcome home, Kenny Agostino

It was announced today by the New Jersey Devils that they acquired 26-year-old Kenny Agostino off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens.

"I was immediately excited for the opportunity," the New Jersey native said. "I'm a hard-working guy, a two-way forward. Hopefully, I can fit in and help the team in whatever way that I can. Obviously, it's pretty special to have the chance to play for my hometown team and be so close to my family and friends."
The forward is no stranger to the Garden State, as he was born in Morristown, New Jersey and grew up in Flanders, New Jersey. He attended high school at Delbarton in Morristown, New Jersey, which is a private Roman Catholic prep school with a prestigious hockey program

While at Delbarton, Agostino became the school's all-time leading scorer with 261 points, in which he still holds the record. In his senior year, he recorded 83 points, netting 50 goals and earning 33 assists. He was named New Jersey Player of the Year by the Newark Star Ledger in both 2009 and 2010. He even played against fellow Devil, Kyle Palmieri, during his time at Delbarton.

"I do remember him," Agostino said about facing off against Devils forward Kyle Palmieri in high school. "I played him in my freshman year, I believe. And well, I remember him being the best player on the ice, obviously!"
As far as other familiar faces, Agostino said him and defenseman Steven Santini train at the same gym in the offseason, so there will be one friendly face when he meets up with the team.
After graduating from Delbarton in 2010, Agostino attended the 2010 NHL Entry Draft where he was drafted 140th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who's General Manager at the time was Ray Shero.

"It's been a few years since my last development camp with the Penguins," he said regarding being familiar with Devils head coach John Hynes and assistant coach Alain Nasreddine. "But I do remember them well. It will be nice to have some familiarity with the way they work - especially when coming to a new team."
The forward went on to play collegiate hockey at Yale University from 2010-2014 where he impressed his rookie season by leading all freshmen with 10 goals.

In his junior year, Agostino earned 41 points on the season with 17 goals and 24 assists. He helped the team to their first-ever NCAA Division I Championship in Yale Men's Hockey history. They defeated Quinnipiac in the championship game 4-0.

At the end of his collegiate career, the forward had finished ninth at Yale in points with 132. Over his four seasons, he finished at 10th in assists with 76 and 12th in goals, earning 56.

On March 28, 2013, Agostino was traded to Calgary by Pittsburgh alongside Ben Hanowski and Pittsburgh's first-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft for Jarome Iginla.
After playing in 10 games with the Flames over two seasons, on July 2, 2016, Agostino signed as a free agent with St. Louis. He signed as a free agent with Boston on July 1, 2017, and then signed with Montreal as a free agent on July 1, 2018.
During his time with the Canadians, Agostino played in 36 games and earned 11 points, recording two goals and nine assists. He will meet the Devils in St. Louis, as the team kicks off the first of a three-game on February 12 against the Blues. They will then head to Chicago to play the Blackhawks on February 14 and conclude their trip in Minnesota against the Wild on February 15.
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