COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Penguins announced the signing of forward prospect Justin Almeida to a three-year entry level contract.
Almeida, 20, was the Penguins' fifth-round pick in 2018. Because of his age, he'll be playing in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton next season.
Almeida is in his fourth full season of junior hockey, and is second on the Moose Jaw Warriors in scoring with 28 goals and 69 assists in 59 games.
Almeida is on the small side at 5-feet-11, 160 pounds. He's capable of playing both wing and center, although he's played mainly wing this season.
For more on Almeida, we've covered him extensively since he was drafted:
• Bradford's feature on Almeida from development camp
• My mid-season check-in/analysis
• Almeida's big week in January
TAYLOR'S VIEW
Almeida is clearly skilled, but his weakness is definitely his size. He's the smallest prospect in the Penguins' system.
He's incredibly fast, which allows him to separate himself from the other players on the ice, so his size isn't that glaring of a weakness in juniors. When he transitions into the AHL with more skilled, larger players, he's going to have a tougher time. He'll have to play in Wilkes-Barre until he puts on some size. As we've seen with other slender prospects, that can be a difficult task.
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