The Minnesota Wild have signed NCAA free agent forward Nico Sturm to a one-year, entry-level contract for the remainder of the 2018-19 season.

The 23-year-old scored 14 goals and posted 45 points in 39 games with Clarkson in his junior season this year. The German had 14 goals and 37 points in 40 games last season and was named the best defensive forward in the ECAC Division.

Sturm will become a restricted free agent at season's end and will be eligible to sign a non-entry level contract.

The Wild have three games remaining on their schedule and sit four points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the second and final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

"We have played a lot of good teams this year and to us, we haven't seen a better player than him," Clarkson head coach Casey Jones told the College Hockey News in January. "He is just a 6-3 player that is skilled. To be big and skilled is a big difference in college hockey.

"He is really committed to a 200-foot game, which is really nice. It is really easy to hold everyone else accountable when your best player plays that 200-foot game. The thing about him is that he wins faceoffs, he blocks shots and he bites pucks. He does everything and it makes it easier for the others to follow him."

Sturm attended development camp with the Ottawa Senators last June.