RALEIGH, NC - Don Waddell, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has signed forward Andrei Svechnikov to a three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will pay Svechnikov $832,500 on the NHL level or $70,000 on the American Hockey League (AHL) level for all three seasons. He will receive a signing bonus of $277,500.

"This an exciting moment for our organization," said Waddell. "Andrei is the type of elite talent that you can build a team around. He has a bright future in a Carolina Hurricanes uniform."

Svechnikov, 18, was ranked first overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting heading into the 2018 NHL Draft. The Barnaul, Russia native registered 72 points (40g, 32a) in 44 games with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2017-18. He finished the regular season with an OHL-best 23-game point streak, earning 46 points (24g, 22a) during that span. Svechnikov recorded 24 multi-point games and he was held without a point in just six games during the regular season. During the playoffs, he posted 11 points (5g, 6a) in eight games.

Svechnikov (6'3", 184 lbs.) won the 2017-18 CHL Top Prospect Award and was named OHL Rookie of the Year. After being taken first overall in the 2017 CHL Import Draft, Svechnikov won OHL Rookie of the Month four of the six times the award was handed out during the 2017-18 season. Svechnikov played for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2016-17, earning 58 points (29g, 29a) in 48 games and was named USHL Rookie of the Year.