Rob Hennigar passes New York Islanders' physical and is ready for training camp in the fall.

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Rob Hennigar got his birthday gift late this year.

The fourth year UNB hockey player turned 25 April 4 and four days later celebrated another milestone: his first NHL contract.

The New York Islanders beat out a reported eight other teams for the services of UNB's all-time scoring leader and then flew him to New York for his medical exam.

"It was pretty surreal. Here I was in New York sitting in the GM's office of an NHL rink," Hennigar said. "A couple years ago I wouldn't have even of thought I'd be doing that." After he was examined by three doctors and given an MRI for a wrist he injured several years ago Hennigar got the good news. He had passed the medical and was officially a pro hockey player.

His first call?

"Obviously I called my parents. They have been such a great influence in my life on and off the ice. They were ecstatic. They always said don't give up your dream and they were just happy to hear I was finally going to get this chance." Hennigar's contract is a two-year deal with a different rate of pay depending on whether he cracks the Islanders roster or plays the year out in the AHL with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Either way he'll be playing pro somewhere next season.

"It's an unreal experience to go to the CIS and now to think I'm going to be a professional hockey player," he said. "I couldn't be more thankful." Hennigar plans to train in Fredericton this summer and then head to New York in July for a rookie camp and Moncton in September for the Islanders main training camp.

"Obviously my main goal is to make the team," he said. "I am excited to see how good these guys really are. I mean I have seen them on TV and I have grown up watching and idolizing a lot of these guys, so to be out there with them is going to be awesome." Hennigar's coach with the Varsity Red's Gardiner MacDougall says he likes his playmaking centre's chances.

"A door has been opened for him and now it's up to him to crack that door wide open and take advantage of this opportunity," said MacDougall. "He has had a great four-year career here and now it's all about pro hockey for him. I think he's one of those special guys who has what it takes to maximize his chance. If he puts his time in this summer and goes into that camp confident, who knows what could happen."

Hennigar's path to the pro ranks is anything but conventional. He played four seasons with the OHL's Windsor Spitfires, two of which were alongside current NHL star Jason Spezza, but thanks to an injury that shortened the 17-year-old's season, he only played 43 games scoring 20 points -- he never got drafted.

In 2004 he came to Fredericton, joining ex Spitfire teammates Craig Mahon, John Scott Dickson and David Bowman on the Varsity Reds and the rest is history. He was named an AUS all-star four times, he won gold with team Canada at the 2007 World University Games, he won a national championship with UNB last season and this year took home CIS player of the year honors and set UNB's all time scoring record with 46 goals and 131 assists in 108 career games.

"When you come to the CIS your focus becomes school and you kind of start looking at other routes. But for myself I thought maybe I'd play pro when I was done and this would just be a stepping stone to get to where I want to go," he said. "Fortunately enough I had a pretty good last two years and I think teams started taking notice." Hennigar's record setting career hasn't come as a complete surprise to the man who first brought him to UNB.

MacDougall says he knew he had something special on his hands from day one.

"I knew he had special qualities," he said. "He was a very smart player with a great skill set and obviously he had the competitive nature to be successful." Hennigar scored nine goals and 26 assists in his rookie season, bringing home the rookie of the year award and being a big part of UNB's surprise run to the national final.

He just kept getting better too. He scored 42 points in his second and third seasons and then exploded this year with 58 points.

"The neat thing about him is he has showed steady improvement with each season," said MacDougall.

"It's not just his on-ice performance either, his leadership, his competitiveness, the whole package has increased greatly each year and this past season was obviously his best yet. It's a neat thing to see a first year player come in and progress to the point that he's the top player in the country." Hennigar is the third UNB player in the past year to get a shot in the pros. Earlier this year former V-Red Darryl Boyce parlayed a successful stint with the Toronto Marlies into a short lived audition with the Maple Leafs which got cut short by a season ending shoulder injury and UNB goaltender Mike Ouzas just signed a 25 game tryout contract with the AHL's Marlies.

"It's a real positive for our league. With the new NHL, players are getting second chances. It used to be that if you didn't get drafted at 17 or 18 years old you were written off but that's not the case anymore," said MacDougall. "The university option is becoming a very viable option for good players now because it's a chance to develop and become a better hockey player while getting an education. I think the end result of becoming a good student and a better hockey player is going to make for better people in the bigger picture." Hennigar couldn't agree more.

"I can't say enough good things about UNB. The hockey here was exceptional," he said. "They do things right here and the program since I have been here has grown so much and looking back from my first year to my fourth year it's pretty impressive."