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Penguins sign former No. 1 draft pick
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At the Penguins' past two summer development camps, 2010 first-round pick Beau Bennett flashed a bit of dipsy-doodle with the puck.
"His stick-skill level is off the charts," Denver University's George Gwozdecky said Friday.
Gwozdecky has handed the forward over to the care of the Penguins.
Bennett, 20, opted to skip his final two years of college eligibility to turn pro and signed a three-year, $2.7 million entry-level NHL contract.
His annual salary-cap hit of $900,000 includes a $90,000 signing bonus. It's a two-way deal worth $67,500 at the minor-league level.
Bennett, 6 feet 1 and 190 pounds, honed his skills as a youngster playing roller hockey in the Los Angeles area.
He played only 10 games for Denver this season because of a wrist injury, but he had four goals, 13 points in those games after amassing nine goals, 25 points in 37 games as a freshman.
"If you extrapolate, he was on track to be one of our top scorers and probably would have been our top scorer," Gwozdecky said.
"He's a talented young man. It's with mixed feelings that he signed.
"We understand that this is Beau's dream, to play in the National Hockey League. I think it was a difficult decision. The Penguins did a real good job advising him."
Bennett's deal runs through 2014-15.
First Published April 14, 2012 12:38 am
