Of all the call-ups the Vancouver Canucks made from Utica last season, none was more surprising than Evan McEneny.
When the Canucks were stricken with the mumps back in February, they turned to the Comets for help. McEneny, unknown to most fans in Vancouver at the time, was part of the call-up contingent.
On Wednesday, the Canucks re-signed the 23-year-old defenceman to a two-year, two-way contract.
McEneny came a long way last season, appearing in a game with the Canucks on February 25th and scoring 23 points (8-15-23) in 64 games with the Utica Comets.
The season prior, McEneny was toiling in the ECHL with the Kalamazoo Wings.
Undrafted, the 6-foot-2, 223-pound blueliner was a free agent signing by the Canucks in 2012. He had a pair of good offensive seasons in the OHL following that, scoring 34 points in 65 games in 2012-13, and 42 points in 61 games one year later.
Though he’s unlikely to crack Vancouver’s roster next season, don’t count McEneny out. He’s proven people wrong before.