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Stars sign prospect Hintz after terrific Finnish league playoff

Finland v Slovakia - 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship

MONTREAL, QC - DECEMBER 27: Patrik Bacik #15 of Team Slovakia has some words for Roope Hintz #22 of Team Finland during the 2015 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship game at the Bell Centre on December 27, 2014 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

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Dallas signed Roope Hintz, the 49th overall pick in 2015, to a three-year, entry-level deal on Thursday.

Hintz, 20, has spent the last three years playing in Finland’s SM-liiga, each of the last two with HIFK Helsinki. This season, Hintz scored 19 goals and 30 points in 44 games, then starred in the playoffs with 14 points in 14 games, emerging as the league’s top postseason scorer.

Previously, Hintz was part of Finland’s gold medal-winning team at the ’16 World Juniors, playing alongside the likes of Patrik Laine, Kasperi Kapanen, Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho and Jesse Puljujarvi.

At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Hintz has good size and could be one to watch in Dallas next season. The Stars could have spots to fill up front -- veteran forwards Patrick Sharp, Alex Hemsky and Jiri Hudler are all pending UFAs -- and he should be well-positioned to make the leap, given he’s got plenty of professional hockey experience already.