Roope Hintz has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Dallas Stars. The deal will begin next season, with Hintz likely joining the AHL Texas Stars for the 2017-18 season. No financial details were released.
Hintz spent this season playing for HIFK Helsinki in the Finnish league (the same team as possible top-3 draft pick Miro Heiskanen) and broke out offensively, scoring 19 goals and 30 points in 44 games. It was always expected that Hintz would eventually find his offensive game, as his shot is excellent and he has elite skating ability. That’s what caused Dallas to select him in the second round of the 2015 draft, despite only scoring 17 points in his first taste of the highest level in Finland.
Last year he took a step forward and was part of the gold medal winning Finnish team at the World Juniors alongside Kasperi Kapanen (who scored the winning goal), Patrik Laine, Jesse Puljujarvi, Sebastian Aho, Mikko Rantanen and others. The next in an amazing group of young forwards from Finland, Hintz will make an impact as a two-way player in the NHL before long.