The Minnesota Wild has signed forward Mario Lucia to a two-year, entry-level contract starting with the 2016-17 season.
Lucia will be returning to the state of Minnesota after growing up in Plymouth and playing high school hockey at Wayzata High School where he was an All-State selection as a junior. Lucia is the son of current University of Minnesota head coach Don Lucia. Lucia chose to attend Notre Dame where he was an alternate captain and tallied 24 points in 37 games this season and totaled 110 points in 151 games during his four-year career.
Lucia also won a gold medal with the United States at the 2013 World Junior Championship, where he tallied three goals to help the United States Under-18 team win a gold medal at the 2010 Four Nations Cup in Sweden and led the tournament with four goals as the United States earned a bronze medal at the 2010 World Junior A Challenge.
Lucia will report to the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League on an Amateur Tryout Agreement for the remainder of this season. He was selected by Minnesota in the second round (60th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in Saint Paul.
