Forward John Wiitala agrees to a 1-year deal with Rochester.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester Americans General Manager Randy Sexton announced on Monday that the team has signed forward John Wiitala to one-year American Hockey League contract for the 2019-20 season.
Wiitala, 24, joins the Amerks after a four-year collegiate career at Ohio State University (NCAA), where he recorded 73 points on (38+35) in 148 career games while being a four-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and a three-time member of the Academic All-Big Ten team. During his final season with the Buckeyes in 2018-19, the Lakeville, Minn. native helped the program claim its first Big Ten regular season title as he registered 17 points (9+8) in 36 contests.
Prior to attending OSU, the 6-foot-0, 178-pound forward played three seasons with the Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL), where he produced 60 points on 28 goals and 32 assists in 167 career games. In his final season with the Black Hawks, Wiitala finished sixth and eighth on the team while establishing career-highs in both goals (13) and points (26), respectively.
Rochester begins its 64th American Hockey League season at home on Friday, Oct. 4 against the Syracuse Crunch at the Blue Cross Arena.