Bruins sign 21 year old Russian free agent.

The Boston Bruins have made an addition to their organizational depth, although it won't be one that they make use of at the National Hockey League level until at least another season.

On Saturday the Bruins announced that they had signed 21 year old Russian forward Georgi Merkulov to a 3 year entry level contract, one that will only kick in next season. According to the official press release from the Bruins the deal will carry an average annual value and salary cap hit of $925,00 per season, a pretty good paycheck to earn as a kid coming fresh out of college.

Merkulov spent one season at Ohio State University playing hockey in the Big Ten for the Buckeyes, scoring 20 goals and adding 14 assists to lead the team in scoring with a combined total of 34 points in just 36 games played. He finished the season with only 10 penalty minutes to his name and a plus minus rating of +18 on the campaign.

Merkulov was never drafted which made him a free agent on the open market and after a strong performance with the Buckeyes there were rumblings that teams in the National Hockey League were interested in signing him. The Bruins were among those believed to be the frontrunners and it would now appear that those rumors were in fact correct.

Prior to playing for the Buckeyes at Ohio State University, Merkulov also spent 2 years stateside developing his skills in the USHL with the Youngstown Phantoms. Over those 2 seasons he appeared in a total of 74 games and in those games he scored 20 goals while adding 53 assists for a total of 73 points over his time in junior.

Merkulov is what you would traditionally consider to be on the smaller side for an NHL forward at just 5'11 and 181 lbs but with the league trending more and more towards smaller and more skilled players he will fit right in. For the time being Merkulov is headed to the American Hockey League where he will remain with the Providence Bruins for the remainder of this current season.