Penn State Hockey’s Brandon Biro Signs Two-Year Contract With NHL’s Buffalo Sabres
Penn State hockey captain Brandon Biro has signed a two-year contract with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, the team announced on Wednesday morning.
Because of the NHL’s current suspension due to the coronavirus outbreak, Biro’s contract will begin at the start of the 2020-21 season.
Penn State’s captain for the 2019-20 season has ties to the Sabres’ organization, as he skated at Buffalo’s summer development camp on an invitation in 2018. The Nittany Lions also have the obvious connection to Sabres owner Terry Pegula, whose $88 million donation funded the construction of Penn State’s Pegula Ice Arena and the return of Division I hockey to Happy Valley.
Biro was part of Penn State’s senior class that vaulted the program from a hopeful to one of college hockey’s best. He scored 116 points (41 goals, 75 assists) in 138 appearances for Guy Gadowsky’s team — including 10 goals and 15 assists in 25 games during his senior year. The wing didn’t get off to a flying start to his college career with six goals and 14 assists in 39 games as a freshman, but he operated at or near a point-per-game pace in the final three seasons of his college career.
The forward also picked up the primary assist on Liam Folkes’ Big Ten-winning goal at Joe Louis Arena with a smart, precise stretch pass through the neutral zone.
After scoring 31 points (nine goals, 22 assists) as a sophomore, Biro was voted to serve as one of Penn State’s alternate captain during his junior year. He excelled with an “A” on his sweater by posting career-high totals in goals (16), assists (24), and points (40) in 37 appearances. He was the obvious choice to assume the captain’s “C” left vacant by Chase Berger’s graduation, and he officially became the seventh captain in Penn State hockey history last April.
Biro is the first Penn Stater to sign an NHL contract this offseason, but he likely won’t be the last. The Nittany Lions are losing a 10-man senior class that includes standouts like Biro, Nate Sucese, and Liam Folkes, and the team could also lose junior NHL Draft picks Evan Barratt and Cole Hults to the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings, respectively, if they elect to forgo their senior year.
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