The Anaheim Ducks announced Friday that they have signed defenseman Jacob Larsson, Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League, to a three-year entry-level contract. Though the team did not release financial details, the deal is likely a standard rookie contract which would pay him $925,000 at the NHL level and $70,000 in the AHL.
Larsson was selected by the Ducks in the first round (27th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft, and spent most of the 2015-16 season playing with Swedish League Champions Frolunda. He posted regular season stats of 5 goals, 9 assists, a +11 rating and just 10 minutes in penalties, and followed that up with another 3 assists in 16 playoff games.
The 6’2”, 191-pound defenseman got his first North American icetime earlier this month with the San Diego Gulls in Game 2 of their second-round Calder Cup playoff series against the Ontario Reign.
Larsson’s international hockey experience includes representing Sweden at the 2016 World Junior Championship, the 2015 Under-18 World Junior Championship, the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial and the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. In 2013-14 he was named the Top Defenseman in Sweden’s Under-18 league after scoring 9 goals and 16 assists in 38 games.