:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63909515/2018_06_30_261.0.jpg)
The Carolina Hurricanes announced on Tuesday that the team has signed defenseman Jesper Sellgren to a three-year entry-level contract. The deal, which carries an AAV of $716,667 at the NHL level, will kick in for the 2019-20 season.
Sellgren is currently under a professional tryout contract with the Charlotte Checkers and playing with the team during their AHL playoff run. He has two goals in seven AHL playoff games this spring.
The 20-year-old defenseman was drafted 166th overall by the Hurricanes in the sixth round of the 2016 NHL Draft. The Örnsköldsvik, Sweden native completed his rookie season in the SHL, Sweden’s top professional hockey league, prior to joining the Checkers. He skated in 52 regular season games for Luleå HF and recorded 15 points before racking up six points in ten playoff games. Sellgren helped lead Sweden to silver medals in the 2018 U20 World Junior Championships and the 2016 U18 World Junior Championships.
Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell released the following statement with regards to the signing:
“Jesper is a solid, two-way defenseman who played for one of the top teams in Sweden in 2018-19. We’re looking forward to him taking the next steps in his development.”
The official news release from the team is below and can be found here:
RALEIGH, NC - Don Waddell, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has signed defenseman Jesper Sellgren to a three-year, entry-level contract, beginning with the 2019-20 season. At the NHL level, Sellgren will be paid $700,000 in 2019-20 and 2020-21 and $750,000 in 2021-22. The deal pays him $70,000 annually at the AHL level and he receives a signing bonus of $260,000. Sellgren is currently playing for the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) on a professional try-out agreement.
”Jesper is a solid, two-way defenseman who played for one of the top teams in Sweden in 2018-19,” said Waddell. ”We’re looking forward to him taking the next steps in his development.”
Sellgren, 20, registered 15 points (3g, 12a) while appearing in all 52 regular-season games for Lulea HF of the Swedish Hockey League in 2018-19. The 5’11”, 169-pound defenseman added six points (3g, 3a) in 10 SHL playoff games with Lulea HF, and he has posted two goals in seven AHL playoff games with Charlotte. Sellgren played a pair of seasons in Sweden’s second division with MODO Hockey from 2016-18, registering 22 points (8g, 14a) in 93 Allsvenskan games. He represented Sweden in the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, tallying an assist and winning silver. The Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, native was drafted by the Hurricanes in the sixth round, 166th overall, of the 2018 NHL Draft.