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Preds sign goalie Anders Lindbäck to entry level contract…

On Monday, the Swedish hockey newspaper HockeyExpressen reported that the Nashville Predators had signed Timrå IK goaltender Anders Lindbäck of the Swedish Elite League to an entry level contract.

Today, they made it official.

Nashville selected Lindbäck with their seventh round pick in the 2008 NHL Draft and he’s played in his native Sweden ever since.

In this crudely translated version of the original report it says that the 22-year old Gavle, Sweden native inked a three year contract which also included a $150,000 signing bonus. The official press release lists the deal as a two-year contract, however, and has no mention of the signing bonus.

The 2008 draft class appears to be turning into quite a collection of prospects for the Predators. Rookie center Colin Wilson tore up the AHL level so much that he warranted a call-up to the big club and never looked back. Fellow 2008 1st rounder Chet Pickard was inconsistent in his first pro season with the Milwuakee Admirals but showed flashes of brilliance at times, illustrating why Nashville traded up to get him with the 18th overall pick. Even their second round pick, Swiss defenseman Roman Josi, is “probably the most complete Swiss junior player for quite some time. He is very mature for someone of his age and he displays a high confidence level on the ice” according to the scouting website hockeysfuture.com.

And now you can add Lindbäck to that list.

The official press release states: “The 6-6, 205-pounder ranked fifth in the Elitserian in save percentage (.913) and sixth in goals-against average (2.46), while tying for fourth in the league in shutouts (4) last season.” It also goes on to say that Lindbäck is expected to play in North America next season.

SPECIAL THANKS to Seth Lake for the tip back on May 24 via his tweet.