North Andover’s Bobby Farnham has been signed by the New Jersey Devils after being placed on waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday.
“Really excited to join the @NHLDevils organization!” Farnham tweeted on Monday afternoon from his official Twitter account (@bobbyfarnham24).
Farnham made the Penguins out of training camp, and appeared in three of their first eight games.
A former Eagle-Tribune MVP while at the Brooks School, and later a star at Phillips Academy then Brown University, Farnham has played in 14 career NHL games since making his debut with the Penguins last season.
Despite standing just 5-foot-10 and 188 pounds, the 26-year-old Farnham has carved out a niche as an enforcer in professional hockey. He has not scored an NHL point, while compiling 29 penalty minutes. He has 627 penalty minutes and 20 goals in 197 AHL games.
Farnham’s fighting ability also made him a fan favorite with Penguins fans. There are numerous videos of his fights on youtube.com, including a bout with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare that has 140,735 views. According to hockeyfights.com, Farnham has five NHL fights to his resume.
Farnham is reportedly a favorite of New Jersey GM Ray Shero, who signed Farnham during his time as Penguins GM (2006-14), and Devils head coach John Hynes, who coached Farnham with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
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David Willis is a sportswriter/videographer for The Eagle-Tribune. Reach him on twitter at @DWillisET