Brock Boeser signs with Canucks, will play Saturday at Wild

The Vancouver Canucks have signed 2015 first-round pick Brock Boeser to an entry-level contract and announced he will play for the team right away.

The 20-year-old Boeser, who just completed his sophomore year with the University of North Dakota, will be in the lineup Saturday when Vancouver faces the Minnesota Wild. North Dakota was eliminated from the NCAA men’s hockey tournament Friday by Boston University in double-overtime.

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By playing Saturday, Boeser will burn a year off his entry-level contract, setting him up for a bigger payday a year earlier.

Saturday at Xcel Energy Center should also be a neat event for Boeser, who is from Burnsville, Minnesota.

Boeser notched 34 points in 32 games this season for the Fighting Hawks, though his production could have been slowed because of December wrist surgery that knocked him out of the IIHF U20 World Junior Championships.

As a freshman, Boeser had 60 points and 27 goals in 42 games.

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Boeser’s debut at least gives the Canucks’ fanbase something to look forward to for the rest of the season since Vancouver will miss the playoffs for the third time in four years. It should also give Boeser some experience on what it takes to be an NHL regular.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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