Leo Carlsson signed a three-year, entry-level contact with the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.
The Ducks selected the 18-year-old center with the No. 2 pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. He was No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting's ranking of International skaters presented by BioSteel and was named Swedish junior hockey player of the year after he had 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 44 games for Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League last season.
"I think in the end, we were really intrigued with his hockey IQ, his creativity," Anaheim general manager Pat Verbeek said at the draft June 28. "Obviously he's got really good size (6-foot-3, 198 pounds) and probably what I loved about him is really his two-way game, and I think there's a potential for him to really be a dominant player at both ends of the ice."
Carlsson was the seventh Sweden-born player chosen among the top three in an NHL Draft. Verbeek has pointed to Carlsson's high hockey IQ, creativity and size as key factors in giving him a slight nod over Adam Fantilli (6-2, 195), a center chosen No. 3 by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Fantilli signed a three-year, entry-level contract July 1.
NHL.com staff writer Barry Rubinstein and independent correspondent Dan Arritt contributed to this report
