Men's Hockey | 6/26/2013 9:53:00 AM

ROCHESTER, NY - Former RIT men's hockey standouts Bobby Raymond (Lucknow, Ontario/Owen Sound), Dan Ringwald (Oakville, Ontario/), Chris Saracino (St. Louis, MO/Green Bay Gamblers), and Jeff Smith (Spokane, WA/Tri-City Storm) have signed contracts to play professionally in Europe for the 2013-14 season. Raymond signed with Iserlohn of the Deutchsland Elite League in Germany, while Ringwald will play for RT Bad Nauheim of the Bundesliga, also in Germany, Saracino has signed with HC Banska Bystrica in Slovakia, while Smith will play for Rungsted in the AL-Bank Ligaen in Denmark.

"It is a great opportunity for our players to continue their professional careers and see different parts of the world," said RIT Heac Coach Wayne Wilson. "It's another chapter for each player, to enjoy different experiences, while playing at a very high level."

Raymond, who graduated from RIT with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering in 2009, played one season in France before appearing in the ECHL and AHL. Last season, he played for the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Raymond was named to the ECHL All-Rookie Team in 2011, before getting called up and eventually helping the AHL's Binghamton Senators win the Calder Cup that season. .

In his RIT career, Raymond was a 2009 All-Atlantic Hockey Association second team member, and 2008 third team selection, in addition to being a two-time winner of the Greg Moss Hard Hat Award. He played in all 144 games over four seasons (2005-09) at RIT, recording 13 goals and 29 assists for 42 points.  Raymond helped lead RIT to a pair of Atlantic Hockey Association regular season titles.

Ringwald played the last three seasons in both the ECHL and AHL, most recently with the Oklahoma City Barons. A 2010 graduate, Ringwald was captain of the RIT squad that advanced to the Frozen Four that season. He was named the 2010 Atlantic Hockey Association Best Defenseman and earned AHA first team honors for the third straight season. He helped lead RIT to a school record 28 wins, the AHA regular season and postseason championships, along with the NCAA East Regional title.  Ringwald also won the 2010 Dan Barrows Fan's Choice, Art Thomas Teammate, and Tim Cordick Best Defenseman awards, given out by the RIT coaching staff. He was named to the AHA Championship and NCAA East Regional All-Tournament teams.

For his career, Ringwald finished with 21 goals and 104 assists for 125 points in 145 career games. He is RIT's all-time leader in assists, and is fourth all-time in points. He is also RIT's leader in points by a defenseman at the DI level.  Ringwald recorded identical 34-point seasons (3-31-34) in 2007-08 and 2008-09 and had 37 points (11-26-37) during his final year.

Smith completed his RIT career in 2013, graduating with a degree in psychology. In 2013, Smith was given the Louis Spiotti Jr. Coaches Award, as a player who embodies RIT hockey, and was co-winner of the Greg Moss Hard Hat Award, given to a player who performs at a high level and does it with very little fanfare. He also won the Dan Barrows Fan's Choice award. Smith enjoyed a tremendous senior season, emerging as a valuable offensive threat, leading the team with 14 goals, while chipping in 11 assists. Smith was a two-time AHA Player of the Week, earning honors on Oct. 15 and Jan. 21. Thirteen of Smith's 14 goals came at even strength. Smith tallied 46 points on 26 goals and 20 assists in 102 career games.

Saracino, a two-year captain, enjoyed an excellent senior season in 2012-13, scoring 11 goals, while adding 21 assists for 32 points in 38 games to earn All-AHA first team honors. For his career, Saracino recorded 73 points on 20 goals and 53 assists in 128 games. Ten of his goals came on the power-play, while he had one game-winning goal. In 2011-12, Saracino was the MVP of Vermont's Catamount Cup, recording nine points in 14 games. As a sophomore in 2010-11, Saracino tallied five goals and 15 assists, while skating at a plus-28, second best in one season at RIT's Division I level. Saracino was a member of the squad that won the 2010 Atlantic Hockey Championship, NCAA East Regional, and advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four.