Lightning sign forward Cole Koepke to two-year contract

TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Cole Koepke to a two-year, entry-level contract, vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois announced today. Koepke will join the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League for the remainder of the 2020-21 season on a professional tryout agreement.

Koepke, 6-foot-1, 196 pounds, played in 28 games for the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs this season, recording 15 goals and 23 points with a plus-3 rating and three power-play goals. He led the Bulldogs for goals and shots on goal, while also ranking third for points as the team lost in the Frozen Four to the UMass Minutemen.
The Two Harbors, Minnesota native, played in 104 career games in three seasons with UMD, registering 38 goals and 75 points with eight game-winning goals and six power-play goals. Koepke won a National Championship with the Bulldogs in 2019.
Koepke was drafted by Tampa Bay in the sixth round, 183rd overall, of the 2018 NHL Draft.