Chicago, Ill.-The Chicago Blackhawks have signed center Marcus Kruger to a three-year contract.
Kruger, 20, ranked second on Djurgardens IF of the Swedish Elite League with 31 points (11G, 20A) in 38 regular-season games in 2009-10 before adding 10 points (3G, 7A) in 16 playoff tilts. Chicago’s fifth selection, 149th overall, in the 2009 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Kruger finished as a finalist for the league’s rookie of the year award.
The Stockholm, Sweden, native earned a Bronze Medal skating for his native country in the 2010 World Junior Championships in Saskatchewan. He ranked third on Sweden with six assists in six contests, and seventh in the entire tournament with a +7 plus/minus rating.