Filip Lindberg must have felt right in the PPG Paints Arena net.
The UMass hockey goalie backstopped the Minutemen to their first national championship at the Pittsburgh Penguins’ arena as a juniorin April and signed a two-year entry-level deal with Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
The Minnesota Wild originally drafted Lindberg, an Espoo, Finland, native, in the seventh round of the 2019 draft. Since he withdrew from school in May, Minnesota only held his rights until free agency began.
Lindberg is UMass’ all-time leader in save percentage (.935) and goals against average (1.62). His 10 shutouts rank second in program history behind Matt Murray’s 11. Murray will return to Amherst for an extra season of eligibility next year. Four of Lindberg’s shutouts came in the NCAA Tournament — an NCAA record — where Lindberg was 6-1.
Lindberg led the NCAA in save percentage (.949) and goals against (1.24) last season.
He’s the fourth member of the title-winning squad to sign a professional deal. Draft picks Zac Jones joined the New York Rangers in April, and Marc Del Gaizo inked his entry-level deal with the Nashville Predators a week later.
Thank you for three incredible years, Fille.
The @penguins got a good one!!#NewMass X #Flagship 🚩 pic.twitter.com/lPjloPqQuH
— UMass Hockey (@UMassHockey) July 28, 2021
UMass captain Jake Gaudet signed an AHL contract with the Cleveland Lake Monsters, the St. Louis Blues affiliate, around the same time.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow