Wisconsin Badgers' leading scorer freshman forward Kyle Turris, as expected, signed with the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes on Monday, foregoing his remaining three years of eligibility. He is expected to play in the Coyotes' final three regular season games beginning Thursday against the Dallas Stars.
Turris, the No. 3-overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, scored 35 points for the Badgers in his only season in Madison.
His career began impressively as a Badger, scoring a goal in his first game Oct. 12 in a 4-1 win over eventual Frozen Four participant Notre Dame.
The freshman wowed the Kohl Center crowd in his first series in Madison Oct. 19 to 20, notching three goals and five assists against Robert Morris. Turris showed signs of greatness throughout the series, including a slap-shot goal with three seconds remaining in the second period against the Colonials in the home opener.
However, Turris struggled in the beginning of the WCHA season, as teams focused its defenses on containing the freshman. He failed to score a goal in his first nine conference games.
That changed on Dec. 1, when Turris tallied a game-tying goal against St. Cloud State in the third period of an eventual 4-3 victory. This helped Wisconsin garner its only conference sweep of the 2007-'08 season.
He missed four games in late December and early January when he participated in the IIHF World U20 Championship in the Czech Republic. Turris led Team Canada in scoring with four goals and four assists en route to the country's fourth-straight gold medal at the event.
Turris qualified for ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays of Jan. 25 in his first game against the rival Minnesota Golden Gophers. On a breakaway, Turris was taken down by Gopher freshman defenseman Cade Fairchild, but still managed to backhand the puck past freshman goalie Alex Kangas for the second-period goal.
Last June, when Turris was drafted to play for former NHL great and current Coyotes head coach and part-owner Wayne Gretzky, it was understood that Turris' career in Madison would not span four seasons. The Coyotes, along with NHL scouts, said Turris needed to improve physically and that his time as a Badger would allow him to do so.
Gretzky apparently was satisfied enough with Turris' development to offer him a contract one day after Wisconsin fell in the NCAA Midwest Regional Finals to North Dakota.
