Senior defenseman Joseph Cecconi has signed an entry-level contract with the NHL’s Dallas Stars, as announced by the team on Tuesday.
Cecconi was drafted in the fifth round, 133rd overall, by the Stars in 2015. As a sophomore, he played for the United States at the World Juniors and played a large role for the U.S.’s gold-medal winning team.
His two-year entry level contract will begin in the 2019-20 season and Cecconi has been assigned to the AHL’s Texas Stars for the remainder of this season.
“I am extremely excited to sign my first NHL contract with the Dallas Stars,” Cecconi said in a statement, per MGoBlue.com “I cannot wait to get to Texas and get started on my next journey. I want to give a special thank you to the coaching staff, my teammates over the past four years, and the Children of Yost for an amazing four years at Michigan.”
After Michigan lost in the Frozen Four to Notre Dame in 2018, Cecconi heavily considered foregoing his final season with the Wolverines and joining Dallas, but he elected to return and was named Michigan’s captain for the 2018-19 season.
On the top defensive pairing with Quinn Hughes, who signed with the Vancouver Canucks on March 10, Cecconi brought a more traditional brand of defense to the partnership. Hughes favored the offensive part of the game, and Cecconi found his footing as a stay-at-home blueliner.
In 147 games with the Wolverines, Cecconi lit the lamp nine times and added 53 assists for 62 total points. His junior and senior seasons contributed the bulk of those points — 47 — as compared to just 15 points across his first two years at Michigan.