The Ottawa Senators signed Boston College senior Patrick Eaves to a three-year entry-level contract. Eaves was Ottawa’s first-round pick, 29th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.
In his junior season at Boston College, Eaves served as assistant captain and led his club in scoring with 19 goals and 29 assists for 48 points in 36 games.
The 2004-05 season carried many accolades for Eaves. He earned first-team all-America and all-conference honours, was named Hockey East player of the year and HE player of the month twice (October and January); and won a NCAA national player-of-the-month award for January. The 21-year-old was also a Hobey Baker Award finalist and captured a share of the Norman F. Dailey Award as Boston’s team MVP with forward Ryan Shannon.
In his three seasons with Boston College, Eaves collected 47 goals and 60 assists for 107 career points in 84 games.
In 2004, Eaves skated for the United States at the world juniors in Helsinki. Eaves helped the U.S. capture gold for the first time as he finished second in team scoring with six points (1-5) in six games.
