Ducks sign No. 2 pick Carlsson to entry-level contract

The Anaheim Ducks inked second overall pick Leo Carlsson to his three-year, entry-level contract Wednesday, the team announced.

The deal carries a cap hit of $950,000, per CapFriendly. Carlsson can also earn up to an additional $1 million in performance bonuses per season.

Carlsson, a 6-foot-3 center, recorded 25 points in 44 games with Orebro in Sweden's top professional league last season. He also added three goals and three assists in seven games at the world juniors, as well as five points in eight contests at the World Championship.

Adam Fantilli was widely expected to be the selection at No. 2, but Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek stunned everyone by picking Carlsson, a consensus top-three player in his own right.

"I think in the end, we were really intrigued with his hockey IQ, his creativity," Verbeek said at the draft. "Obviously, he's got really good size 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 joins a young Ducks core that already features fellow recent top-10 picks Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish, and Jamie Drysdale.

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