Mark Jankowski Signs with Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames announced that they have signed Providence senior forward Mark Jankowski to a two-year entry level contract.

Jankowski was a controversial draft choice of the Flames when he was selected 21st overall in the 2012 NHL Draft. Coming out of low-level prep school hockey in Canada, Jankowski was a massive project, and early struggles at Providence turned an impatient Calgary fanbase against him.

But given time to mature physically and develop, Jankowksi turned into a point-per-game player in his senior season, scoring 15-25-40 in 38 games with the Friars this season, and helped lead Providence to their first Hockey East regular season title.

Jankowski is a power forward--listed at 6'4" 205 lbs.--with speed and skill. His stickhandling ability and ability to make plays at speed are exceptional. Through the early stages of his career, he had a tough time working in traffic, which limited his offensive production, but has began using his size more effectively.

We ranked Jankowski as the 76th-best NHL prospect in the NCAA this season:

It's been an interesting four years for Mark Jankowski at Providence. But take away the baggage of the expectations as a first round draft pick by Calgary four years ago and Jankowski looks like a fairly solid prospect. He led the Friars in scoring this season with 15-25-40 in 36 games this year. Jankowski has started to fill into his 6'3" frame and his skillset has never been in question. It will just be a matter of proving he can handle the physicality of the next level and be a player that does more than just score. The Flames may opt to take a compensatory pick rather than sign Jankowski this summer, but where ever he ends up, he'll be a decent prospect worth watching.

As noted above, Calgary chose to sign Jankowski rather than taking the second round compensatory pick for not signing him. Jankowski will finish this season on an ATO with the Flames AHL affiliate in Stockton, California.