Caps Sign First Rounder

Filip Forsberg made a good impression. So good in fact the Capitals have signed him to an entry level contract. GM George McPhee had said that the talented forward would spend another year in Sweden, but this contract may make his appearance in a Caps sweater a sooner rather than later. Per Caps PR:

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have signed forward Filip Forsberg to a three-year, entry-level contract, vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today. Forsberg will earn $832,500 at the NHL level and $70,000 at the AHL level.

Forsberg, 17, was drafted by Washington in the first round (11th overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft last month in Pittsburgh. He was listed as the top-ranked European skater heading into the draft according to NHL Central Scouting. Forsberg was the youngest player on Team Sweden at the 2012 World Junior Championships, helping his team capture their first World Junior gold medal since 1981 by recording one assist in six tournament games. The Ostervala, Sweden, native collected 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 43 games with Leksand in the second division of Sweden’s senior league in 2011-12. Forsberg also captained Sweden to a silver medal in the 2012 World Under-18 Junior Championships, registering five goals and two assists in six games while being named the tournament’s best forward.

The 6’2”, 181-pound center won a silver medal at the 2011 World Under-18 Championships, recording six points (four goals, two assists) in six games, and at the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial collecting five points (four goals, one assist) in six games.

He is currently participating in his first Capitals Development Camp and is expected to be assigned to Leksand for the upcoming 2012-13 season.