Winnipeg’s Stelio Mattheos signs NHL contract with Carolina Hurricanes

Brandon Wheat Kings captain Stelio Mattheos signed his first NHL contract on Thursday.

The Carolina Hurricanes announced the team has signed the Winnipeg forward to a three-year entry-level contract.

The deal will kick in next season and will pay him $700,000 per season in the first two years of the contract. He’ll make $750,000 in the final year of his agreement if he’s in the NHL. The contract calls for him to make $70,000 per season if he’s in the American Hockey League. He also received a $277,500 signing bonus.

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“Stelio is a highly-skilled center coming off back-to-back 90-point seasons in Brandon,” Hurricanes General Manager Don Waddell said in a media release.

“He’s shown great ability as a goal scorer and we look forward to the next steps in his development.”

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The 19-year-old Mattheos finished fourth in the Western Hockey League with 44 goals in 65 games last season. His 96 points ranked sixth best in league scoring. He was the Wheat Kings’ first overall selection in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft.

The former member of the Winnipeg Wild was selected by the Hurricanes in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft.

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Since the Wheat Kings missed the WHL playoffs, Mattheos will report to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers for the remainder of the season on an amateur tryout agreement.