Grigori Denisenko signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. It begins next season.
The 20-year-old forward, selected by the Panthers with the No. 15 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, scored 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 38 games with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the Kontinental Hockey League this season.
"We are thrilled to officially sign Grigori to an entry-level deal for the upcoming 2020-21 season," Florida general manager Dale Tallon said. "He is a highly-skilled and hard-working young player who has a bright future in our organization. Although he will be ineligible to play games for us during the 2020 postseason, we look forward to having him challenge for a position on the Panthers roster next season."
Denisenko helped Russia finish second at the 2020 World Junior Championship. He was captain and led the team with nine points (three goals, six assists) in seven games. He also helped Russia to a third-place finish at the 2019 World Junior Championship, leading the tournament with nine points (four goals, five assists) in seven games.
The Panthers, who were 35-26-8 (.565 points percentage) in the regular season, enter the Stanley Cup Qualifiers as the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference. They will play the No. 7 seed, the New York Islanders (35-23-10, .588), in one of eight best-of-5 series, with the winner advancing to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the loser having a chance at the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft in the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery on Aug. 10.
The Eastern Conference Qualifiers will be played at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The Islanders-Panthers series is scheduled to begin Aug. 1 at 4 p.m. ET.
