Wild sign first-round pick Carson Lambos to three-year, entry-level deal

The Minnesota Wild inked Carson Lambos to a three-year, entry-level contract after selecting him with their second first-round pick in this year’s draft. Lambos split last season between JYP in Finland and the Winnipeg Ice, but he was shut down early because of a leg injury.

The 26th-overall pick this season, Lambos will almost certainly be heading back to the WHL for the upcoming season. He played just two games with Winnipeg in 2020-21, failing to record a point before injury wrecked his season. That actually may have caused a bit of a slip on draft day, as Lambos was ranked 11th by NHL Central Scouting among North American skaters and ended higher than 26 on most other public rankings. The Wild obviously believe he will recover fully and continue on his development path as a strong two-way defender, one who has a little (very little) bit of experience playing against professionals.

Should Lambos return to the WHL as expected, his contract will not kick in for the 2021-22 season. Instead, it will slide forward, meaning the Wild would have him signed through at least 2024-25. There’s no rush for the 6-1 defenseman, who led all WHL rookie defensemen in scoring in 2019-20 with 32 points in 57 games.