Hurricanes Sign Andrei Svechnikov to Entry-Level Contract

The Carolina Hurricanes have officially signed 2018 second-overall draft pick Andrei Svechnikov to a three-year entry-level contract.

Like in years past, the contract was announced and signed in front of the fans in attendance at Canes’ Summerfest.

Jamie Kellner

The 18-year-old had a banner year for the OHL’s Barrie Colts in 2017-18, netting 40 goals in 44 regular season games before getting drafted by the Hurricanes in June.

Svechnikov is expected to make the Hurricanes out of training camp, but if he doesn’t, he will have to be sent back to Barrie for the 2018-19 season. If he is sent back to the OHL before playing in ten NHL games, the first year of his contract will not be triggered.

While the contract was signed today, it won’t be officially registered until tomorrow, July 1.

The official press release from the team can be found here and is pasted below:

Don Waddell, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has signed forward Andrei Svechnikov to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will pay Svechnikov $832,500 on the NHL level or $70,000 on the American Hockey League (AHL) level for all three seasons. He will receive a signing bonus of $277,500.

”This an exciting moment for our organization,” said Waddell. ”Andrei is the type of elite talent that you can build a team around. He has a bright future in a Carolina Hurricanes uniform.”

Svechnikov, 18, was ranked first overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting heading into the 2018 NHL Draft. The Barnaul, Russia native registered 72 points (40g, 32a) in 44 games with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2017-18. He finished the regular season with an OHL-best 23-game point streak, earning 46 points (24g, 22a) during that span. Svechnikov recorded 24 multi-point games and he was held without a point in just six games during the regular season. During the playoffs, he posted 11 points (5g, 6a) in eight games.

Svechnikov (6’3”, 184 lbs.) won the 2017-18 CHL Top Prospect Award and was named OHL Rookie of the Year. After being taken first overall in the 2017 CHL Import Draft, Svechnikov won OHL Rookie of the Month four of the six times the award was handed out during the 2017-18 season. Svechnikov played for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2016-17, earning 58 points (29g, 29a) in 48 games and was named USHL Rookie of the Year.