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Bolts sign World Junior prospect Mathieu Joseph to entry-level contract

Saint John Sea Dogs v Blainville-Boisbriand Armada

BOISBRIAND, QC - OCTOBER 12: Mathieu Joseph #21 of the Saint John Sea Dogs skates the puck against Jeremy Roy #81 of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada during the QMJHL game at the Centre d’Excellence Sports Rousseau on October 12, 2016 in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

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The Tampa Bay Lightning took care of some business over the holiday break, as they signed prospect Mathieu Joseph to a three-year entry-level contract.

Joseph, who was selected in the fourth-round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, is having a terrific season with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec League. The 19-year-old has 25 goals, 20 assists and a plus-23 rating in 29 games.

The Bolts prospect is currently tied for first in QMJHL scoring despite playing fewer games than the two players he’s equal with.

He is one of five Lightning prospects currently on Team Canada’s roster at the World Junior Hockey Championship, which kicks off in Montreal and Toronto today.

“I thought it would happen at the end of the season, but I guess it was a good time for Tampa to sign it,” said Joseph, per TSN.ca. “It feels good, honestly. Everyone knows there’s a lot of prospects in Tampa so it was good to sign this contract and get it out of the way before Christmas and now I can focus on the tournament.”

The other four Tampa prospects on Canada’s roster are goalie Connor Ingram and forwards Mitchell Stephens, Taylor Raddysh and Anthony Cirelli.

Related:

--Team Canada announces full World Junior roster