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B’s sign Ohio State freshman Georgii Merkulov to ELC

The Bruins have continued their snaking through NCAA Free Agency with a B1G signing!

COLLEGE HOCKEY: JAN 15 Notre Dame at Ohio State
Ohio State with the “coach couldn’t make AthleticKnit’s website work so we had to go with these” fit this year.
Photo by Graham Stokes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Bruins have officially announced their signing of Ohio State forward Georgii Merkulov to an Entry Level Contract worth $925,000.

The B’s were rumored to be linked to Merkulov earlier this week, but the ink it appears has been applied to paper.

Merkulov has taken a deeply unusual path to where he is now; having been in the Kapitan Stupino system for his youth hockey, and then transitioning hard in 2019 towards North American development; playing for the Youngstown Phantoms (Don’s favorite USHL team), and then committing to Ohio State in 2021. Merkulov’s 34 points in 36 games as a freshman and newbie to a harsh conference (including the dual death star programs in Michigan and Minnesota) is impressive, and Ohio State will miss him sorely:

Of course, I think the real way to consider a talent is to ask his teammates what they think of him, and as it turns out, Mason Lohrei happens to be a teammate of his. What do you think about Georgii, Mason?

20 goals in 32 games is pretty goalscore-y. You have my attention.

For right now anyway, Merkulov will probably report to Providence, where he can get ready for more playoff hockey as the P-B’s prepare to face their final games in the AHL before heading to the Calder Cup playoffs.

So Добро пожаловать to Georgii! Welcome to the Black and Gold!