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NHL Notebook: College star off to Sweden
By
QMI Agency
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Hobey Baker Award winner Jack Connolly of Minnesota-Duluth is taking his speed and offence to Sweden.
The 22-year-old centre has signed a two-year contract with Farjestad of the Swedish Elite League.
Connolly is just 5-foot-8 and 170 pounds, which almost certainly resulted in him not being drafted by an NHL team.
"We have received very good recommendations of him and have seen that several college players worked well in the Swedish hockey environment in Elitserien and Allsvenskan, where size is not as decisive as in the professional leagues in North America," Farjestad sports manager Thomas Rundqvist told the team's website Friday.
Connolly won the Baker award as the top college hockey player in the U.S. after getting 20 goals and 40 assists in 41 games with Minnesota-Duluth.
BRIEFLY: The Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday signed their 2010 first-round draft pick, forward Beau Bennett, to a three-year, entry-level contract. Bennett, 20, spent the past two seasons at the University of Denver, where he had 13 goals and 25 assists in 47 games ... The Chicago Blackhawks reached agreement on a one-year contract with forward Peter LeBlanc, 24. ... The San Jose Sharks signed 6-foot-5 Konrad Abeltshauser to an entry-level contract. The native of Bad Tolz, Germany was drafted in the sixth round in 2010.
