Rancho Cucamonga native Delia signs entry-level deal with Blackhawks
Rising senior goaltender Collin Delia of Merrimack College has signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks, as announced by the franchise on Friday, July 28.
Delia, a free agent, will forgo his final year of NCAA eligibility to begin his professional career with the Blackhawks and will report to the Blackhawks’ training camp in mid-September.
“We’re very happy for Collin and wish him nothing but the best as he pursues his dream of playing in the NHL,” said Merrimack head coach Mark Dennehy. “He embodied everything that a true Merrimack Warrior should be and we look forward to watching his career unfold.”
The Rancho Cucamonga native wraps up his career with a 21-24-10 record in net to go along with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage. He ranks fifth in the Division I era in career wins and career GAA, while his 2.15 GAA and .927 save percentage figures that were both set last season are the second-best in single-season history since the program joined Division I.
Delia was named a Hockey East Third Team All-Star and was a New England Hockey Writers Association All-Star last spring after putting together one of the program’s best goaltending campaigns. After missing a stretch of 11 straight games due to injury early in the season, Delia returned in mid-November and proceeded to put up the best goaltending figures of his career, finishing 9-8-3 in 21 starts/appearances to go alongside a 2.15 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. He finished the season ranked 14th nationally in goals-against average and ninth in save percentage.
In 14 league games, Delia posted the top save percentage (.928) and third-best goals-against average (2.21) while owning the third-best win percentage (7-3-3, .654) amongst all conference goaltenders over the course of the league’s 22-game regular season schedule.
During his youth days, Delia played for the Anaheim Jr. Ducks, California Stars, California Titans, Inland Valley Wild and Orange County Hockey Club.
