Michael Kostka, who anchored the blue-line with the University of Massachusetts Minutemen for the past four years, signed a two-year entry level contract with the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres.

The 6-foot, 2-inch, 210-pound defenceman says he's extremely happy to have the Sabres pick him up as a free agent after his senior season with UMass.

"I'm definitely excited," says Kostka, 22, who's completing a psychology degree at the Amherst, Mass. university. "My four years at UMass have been unbelievable to say the least. I couldn't ask for anything more. It's given me the opportunity to play professionally once I'm done in May. It's been an all-around great experience that has helped me grow and prepare for the next stage of my life."

He'll attend the Sabres' rookie camp in June, which will include draft picks and free agents, and also the club's main camp in September. He expects to join the Sabres' American Hockey League affiliate, which is expected to be moved from Rochester to Portland, Maine in time for next season.

Kostka says his association with the Sabres began a year ago while playing in the NCAA regionals with UMass that were held in Rochester. After the regionals, he spoke with Sabres' officials who proffered an invitation to Buffalo's rookie camp that summer.

"I went there and it was a really good experience. There were draft picks and AHL players there and I got to meet the people in the organization. They told me, 'go play another year and we'll keep watching you and we'll get in touch at the end of next year', and they came through with the two-year contract, a two-way contract between Buffalo and their AHL team."

This past season at UMass fell short of expectations, says Koskta, although the Minutemen were hot initially and were ranked No. 5 in the national polls of NCAA Division 1 men's hockey at Christmas last year. The team's play, however, deteriorated and UMass hung on to achieve the eight seed in the Hockey East playoffs. They lost to the top-seeded University of New Hampshire Wildcats in the opening round.

"It was tough; we were really frustrated with it," says Kostka, who served as team captain last season. "It was our last hurrah and we wanted to go out on a high and that's not exactly what we did."

Although the team struggled in the second half of last season, Kostka had a fine individual season, scoring a career-high nine goals and leading the Minutemen with a plus-11 rating. Seven of his nine goals came on the power play, which led all defencemen nationally.

Kostka was also named to the Hockey East Second All-Star team and was a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award, as the top player in NCAA Division 1 men's hockey. He was also named the most valuable player for UMass hockey this year. He was named to the Hockey East all-academic team for the fourth year in a row.

In the off-season, Kostka plans to continue to do off-ice training and strength work in Toronto, while also taking skating instruction in Vaughan.