Former Barrie Colts captain Connor Punnett has signed a three-year deal with the NHL's Dallas Stars.
The professional club says its entry-level contract with the rugged 20-year-old defenceman, who was not drafted by an NHL team and is currently playing with the Ontario Hockey League's Oshawa Generals, will begin in the 2024-25 season.
Punnett, who is listed at six-foot-two and 199 pounds, also attended the Detroit Red Wings development camp last summer.
The Dallas Stars (38-17-9) sit in second place in the NHL's Western Conference, two points back of the Vancouver Canucks.
On Jan. 9, Punnett was dealt to the Oshawa Generals at the Ontario Hockey League's trade deadline for overage players. In exchange, the Colts received blue-liner Thomas Stewart as well as a third-round pick in 2025 (Sault Ste. Marie) and a sixth-round pick in 2027 (Peterborough).
Punnett, a native of Powassan in the North Bay area, came to the Colts at the 2020 trade deadline in the deal for Ryan Suzuki. That move also included forward Ethan Cardwell, who's now in the San Jose Sharks system, and bevy of draft picks coming to Barrie.
In 190 games with the Colts, Punnett had 25 goals and 69 assists for 94 points.
In 25 games since joining the Generals, he has five goals and 14 assists for 19 points as well as 39 penalty minutes.
The Generals (33-19-7-2) sit third in the OHL's Eastern Conference with seven games remaining on the regular-season schedule.
