Keith Petruzzelli has found a new home.
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The 6-foot-5 goaltender has signed a contract with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers for the 2024-25 season.
Welcome to the Valley, Keith👻 The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have signed goaltender Keith Petruzzelli for the 2024-25 season. pic.twitter.com/aze7aDB2Yy
— Lehigh Valley Phantoms (@LVPhantoms) August 15, 2024
Petruzzelli played in 17 games with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL where he posted a 6-8-2 record and .867 save percentage. With goaltending prospect Dennis Hildeby with the Marlies, the Massachusetts-born Petruzzelli didn’t get a lot of playing time.
Following the season, the Leafs elected not to tender the goaltender a qualifying offer to retain his rights.
Petruzzelli, a third-round pick (88th) overall by the Detroit Red Wings, spent three years in the Toronto organization. He signed his first-ever NHL contract on Nov. 6, 2022, when the Leafs found themselves in a shortage of healthy and available goaltenders.
With Matt Murray (adductor) and Ilya Samsonov (knee) both injured, former Leafs goaltender Erik Kallgren was called up to play a string of games. Petruzzelli signed to an entry-level deal and served as Kallgren’s backup for a game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Samsonov eventually returned from a knee injury and the Leafs ran with Kallgren, leaving Petruzzelli without any NHL games under his belt.
Last year, Hildeby played in the AHL and there was a lot of competition for the net and with Russian goaltending prospects Vyacheslav Peksa and Artur Akhtyamov waiting in the wings, there was simply no room for Petruzzelli in Toronto.
With his AHL contract, Petruzzelli would need to sign an NHL deal before getting to chance back at that level.
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