Toronto Maple Leafs sign Minnesota State goalie, Hobey Baker winner Dryden McKay

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Dryden McKay, the Minnesota State goaltender who won this year's Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA's top player before accepting a six-month ban for an anti-doping rule violation.

McKay, 24, agreed to a two-year contract with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

McKay was a college free agent after he wasn't selected in the NHL draft. He told ESPN during the Frozen Four that NHL teams haven't pursued him because he's only 5-foot-11 at a time when goalies who physically fill the net are preferable. McKay played his final NCAA game for the Mavericks on April 9, losing 5-1 in the Frozen Four national championship game to Denver.

«Thank you to everyone in Mankato for an incredible four years. Memories and relationships that will last a lifetime. I will always be proud to be a Maverick. Excited for the next chapter,» tweeted McKay, who had previously indicated that he would leave Minnesota State despite having one more year of eligibility.

The signing comes one week after McKay accepted a six-month ban from competition for an anti-doping rule violation, according to the United States Anti-Doping Agency. He will be eligible to voluntarily enter the Marlies' facilities on August 25 and play for the team beginning on October 11.

McKay told ESPN that he was notified on Feb. 1 that a urine sample collected on Jan. 23 returned a positive test for ostarine, a muscle growth drug that's not approved by the FDA and is considered a banned substance by the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing, the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee National Anti-Doping Policy and the International Ice Hockey Federation Anti-Doping Regulations.

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