Blue Jackets sign Wennberg; Penguins sign Archibald

The Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday signed center Alexander Wennberg to a three-year entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Wennberg, 19, was selected with the 14th pick in the 2013 NHL Draft and recently completed his rookie season with Frolunda HC in the Swedish Hockey League. The native of Nacka, Sweden, finished second on the team with 16 goals in 50 games and was a finalist for rookie of the year.

"In talking to Alexander after the season, he made it very clear that he wanted to sign, work hard this summer and then come to training camp to try to make our team," Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekelainen said. "He is an outstanding young player and we are excited to watch him develop in the coming years."

Wennberg (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) has represented Sweden at several International Ice Hockey Federation events, winning a silver medal at the 2013 and 2014 World Junior Championships and the 2012 World U-18 Championship. He served as national junior team captain at this year's tournament and played for Sweden at the 2011 World Junior A Championships, finishing fourth.

"It's a great feeling right now. I'm really excited about signing the contract and being part of the Blue Jackets organization," Wennberg told the team website. "This has been a great year for me. I was able to play in the higher level over in Sweden, which was a good experience for me and I learned a lot from that. It was a good call for me to play against better players, and it was always part of my plan with Columbus and how they wanted me to play and everything.

"Like I said, it's been a great year personally and I'm looking forward to coming over there; I have a great relationship with the GM and we've talked a lot about [the future]."

Also Friday:

The Pittsburgh Penguins signed forward Josh Archibald to a three-year entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed. The contract will begin with the 2014-15 season and run through 2016-17.

Archibald, 21, was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA's top college hockey player this season after ranking third in the nation with 29 goals playing for Nebraska-Omaha. Following the season, Archibald (5-10, 181) joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on an amateur tryout and scored one goal in six regular-season games.

Archibald was a sixth-round pick (No. 174) of the Penguins in 2011.