Penguins Sign 2017 Seventh-Round Draft Pick William Reilly

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed their 2017 seventh-round draft pick, defenseman William Reilly to a two-year, entry-level contract, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford.

The deal begins with the 2020-21 season and runs through the 2021-22 campaign.

"Will had an impressive year in 2019-20 after continuing to improve during his four years at RPI. His commitment to working hard and improving his conditioning has paid off," said Rutherford. "We are happy to add another young player, increasing our organizational depth on defense."

Reilly, 22, was chosen by the Penguins with the 217th overall selection at the 2017 NHL Draft in Chicago. From 2017-2019, Reilly attended the Penguins' annual prospect development camp at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

The 6-foot-2, 197-pound defenseman recently completed his senior season at Rensselaer Polytechnical Institute (RPI) of the ECAC where he captained the Engineers. Among ECAC defensemen in 2019-20, Reillyranked second in goals (8) and fifth in points (22) in 34 games played. Additionally, Reilly was the team-leader in plus/minus at plus-14 and led the club in power-play points with nine (4G-5A)

At the conclusion of the 2019-20 season, Reilly was named a finalist for the ECAC's "Best Defensive Defenseman" and was named to the conference's Second All-Star Team.

Over the course of his four collegiate seasons, the Toronto, Ontario native posted 22 goals, 46 assists and 68 points in 139 games.

Before playing for RPI, Reilly skated for the Nanaimo Clippers of British Colombia Hockey League where he was named Rookie of the Year and won a division championship with the team. In 52 games with the Clippers, he notched 32 points (9G-23A).