Spartan Corey Tropp Signs Pro Contract with Buffalo

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State junior forward Corey Tropp has opted to forego his final season of collegiate eligibility, signing a three-year entry-level contact with the Buffalo Sabres.  Tropp was the Spartans’ top scorer a season ago, and is the third underclassman to sign a professional contract this off-season.  Terms of his contract were not announced.

"Obviously, we are going to miss a player of Corey’s caliber in the lineup," noted head coach Rick Comley.  "This, though, is the reality of college hockey – good players are leaving school after their sophomore and junior seasons.  We wish him the best as he pursues his dream to play professional hockey."

Tropp is coming off a season where he earned team MVP honors and was named a Second Team All-CCHA performer, notching 20-22-42 points in 37 games last season.  He spent the season ranked among national leaders in goals, as well as power-play markers (9) and game-winning tallies (5). The winger appeared in 100 career games in Green and White, and had a 29-41-70 scoring line.  An alternate captain this season, Tropp was a fifth-round draft pick of the Sabres in the 2007 NHL entry draft. 

Tropp joins classmates Jeff Petry (Edmonton Oilers) and Andrew Rowe (Philadelphia Flyers) as early departures from the Spartans, and all were among the team’s top four scorers.  However, the Spartans will return 19 letterwinners from its 2009-10 team which finished second in the CCHA.