Blackhawks Sign Top Prospect Nick Schmaltz To 3-Year Deal
CHICAGO (CBS) -- In a move the Blackhawks likely hope will take some of the sting out of trading away Teuvo Teravainen, the team has signed top prospect Nick Schmaltz to a three-year contract.
Terms of Schmaltz's contract weren't disclosed.
A 20-year-old forward, Schmaltz was the Blackhawks' first-round draft pick in 2014. He had 72 points in 75 career games with North Dakota in two seasons and led the Fighting Hawks to the 2016 NCAA championship over Quinnipiac.
The Wisconsin native also won a bronze medal with Team USA at the 2016 World Junior Championship, scoring eight points (two goals, six assists) in seven games.
The signing comes four days after the Blackhawks traded Teravainen to the Carolina Hurricanes in a deal that also allowed them to dump Bryan Bickell's $4 million salary. Chicago received a second-round pick (No. 50 overall) in this year's draft and a third-round pick in 2017 in that trade.