Pens’ prospects Pavlychev, Jones hit free agency

The deadline to sign drafted college prospects who graduated this spring was at 5 p.m. on Saturday, and two Penguins prospects went unsigned and are now unrestricted free agents.

Penn State forward Nikita Pavlychev, the Penguins’ 2015 seventh-round pick, and Nebraska-Omaha defenseman Ryan Jones, the Penguins’ 2016 fourth-round pick, are now free to sign with any team.

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Pavlychev, 23, was offered an AHL-level contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton but did not accept, as Dave Molinari reported in a Friday Insider.

“We’d like him to stay with us,” a Penguins source said of Pavlychev. “But being that it’s taken this long, he may go a different route.”

Pavlychev, 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds, scored seven goals and seven assists in 27 games in his senior season at Penn State.

Jones, 24, is a shutdown defenseman, and recorded a total of four goals and 38 assists in 141 games over his four collegiate seasons. He was an alternate captain in his senior season.

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