Princeton's Gorman Signs PTO, AHL Deal With Ontario Reign

The No. 25 all-time scorer in Princeton history walked into a pro contract at exactly the moment Ontario needed him.

Princeton senior forward Brendan Gorman signed a professional tryout agreement with the Ontario Reign for the remainder of the 2025-26 AHL season and agreed to terms on a standard AHL player contract for the 2026-27 campaign, the university announced March 30. The deal gives the Los Angeles Kings' AHL affiliate an immediate right-shot forward option heading into April, when roster decisions carry direct playoff consequences.

The dual structure of the agreement, PTO now and a locked-in contract for next season, is a well-worn path for graduating NCAA players, but the terms reflect genuine organizational interest rather than a throwaway depth move. Gorman, 23, wrapped up a four-year collegiate career at Princeton with 22 points (13 goals, 9 assists) in 34 games this season and finished with 91 career points (37 goals, 54 assists), placing him No. 25 on the program's all-time scoring list. He is 6 feet tall, 175 pounds, and shoots right.

What likely caught Ontario's attention beyond the point totals is Gorman's penalty-kill footprint. He ranked No. 2 in the ECAC and No. 8 nationally in short-handed goals this season, a production rate that translates directly into the kind of PK-specialist, checking-line forward role the Reign identified for him. Teams going deep in the AHL playoffs need forwards who can log shorthanded minutes and suppress opponents; Gorman built four years of that at the college level against ECAC competition.

Princeton head coach Ben Syer noted that Gorman's impact extended well beyond the scoresheet. "He's been a catalyst for this program since the day he arrived and risen to rank among the top scorers in program history," Syer said. "He's been a key component in all three phases for us, and opposing teams have often had their best defensive players assigned to shut down Brendan's line. Brendan has been a great teammate and leader and I know he will fit in well with his new teammates and coaches."

That opposition attention is a credible pro-readiness signal. A forward who draws assignment-level defensive coverage in the ECAC has already been tested in a suppression role, which is precisely the environment he will enter in Ontario's checking and penalty-kill units.

For the Reign, the math on this signing is straightforward: a PTO forward costs next to nothing against the cap, and if Gorman can skate in meaningful situations over the final weeks of the regular season, Ontario gets an informed evaluation before the 2026-27 contract kicks in. Gorman, meanwhile, gets his first exposure to professional pace and systems in a low-stakes audition that still comes with the security of a guaranteed AHL deal waiting on the other side.

He came out of St. Sebastian's in Arlington, Mass., where he captained the program before enrolling at Princeton. The step from the ECAC to the AHL is significant, but Gorman arrives with a résumé built on the exact qualities, two-way reliability, penalty-kill production, senior leadership, that AHL depth signings are supposed to provide.