It was made official on Friday. Luke Curadi will play his college hockey at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
At 6-foot-5, 247 pounds, the East Hartford native is the biggest RPI player in recent years.
Several websites referred to Curadi's verbal commitment to RPI on Friday, including that of Curadi's team, the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League. Curadi will most likely join RPI in September but it's possible he could play one more year in juniors.
He currently has three goals, six assists for nine points and 58 penalty minutes at Penticton. The bruising, physical Curadi has a tendancy to draw some unnecessary penalties; he had 167 minutes in the Atlantic Junior Hockey League last year.
Having already added highly-touted Nick Quinn and Bowling Green transfer Nick Bailen, RPI coach Seth Appert now has a replacement -- assuming Curadi plays at RPI next season -- for each of the three senior defensemen on this year's roster.
Ironically, Curadi was born at West Point, where current RPI athletic director Jim Knowlton played and served as AD.