Jesperi Kotkaniemi, the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.
Including signing bonuses, the contract has an average annual value of $925,000.
Kotkaniemi will turn 18 on Friday. The forward had 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 57 games with Assat in Liiga, Finland's top professional league, and had nine points (six goals, three assists) in seven games to help Finland win the gold medal at the 2018 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.
"He's a player who really took off during the second half of the season," Canadiens assistant general manager Trevor Timmons said after Kotkaniemi was drafted. "He has a lot of assets. We project that he'll become a first- or second-line center in the future."
