Blues sign Will Cranley to one-year, two-way contract

The St. Louis Blues are keeping around a member of their organizational depth in net.

On Monday, the team announced that they have re-signed goaltender Will Cranley to a one-year, two-way contract.

Cranley, 24, had a 6-4-0 record in 10 appearances for the Springfield Thunderbirds, the Blues’ AHL affiliate, last season, while putting up a 3.03 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage. He also made 18 appearances for St. Louis’ ECHL affiliate, the Florida Everblades, last season, sporting a 14-3-1 record with a 2.17 GAA and a .915 SV%.

The Peterborough, Ontario native was selected by the Blues in the sixth round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft after his first season full season with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s in 2019-20, in which he broke out by posting an 18-2-0 record in 21 appearances with a 2.81 GAA and a .894 SV%. In the 2018-19 season, he made just 11 appearances with the 67’s, sporting a 4-3-0 record with a 3.46 GAA and a .868 SV%.

Cranley stayed in the OHL for two full seasons after getting drafted, with the exception of playing one game on loan with the AHL’s Utica Comets in the 2020-21 season. In 2020-21 with the 67’s, he took a major step forward in terms of workload by appearing in 41 games, but put up a record of 13-22-3 with a 3.81 GAA and a .873 SV%. His final year in the OHL, the 2022-23 season, was spent with the Flint Firebirds, where he went 18-18-5 in 44 appearances with a 3.87 GAA and a .884 SV%.

Prior to this past season, Cranley spent almost all of his first two professional season in the ECHL, split between the Reading Royals, the Utah Grizzlies, and the Florida Everblades. In 56 combined ECHL appearances over that time, he had a 20-24-7 record with a 3.37 GAA and a .892 SV%.

Cranley has yet to make an NHL appearance in his career.