Less than a week after finishing up his collegiate career, Junior Lessard signed a one-year deal with the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars Thursday afternoon in Dallas. Per club policy, no financial terms of the deal were disclosed.

\"Our organization is excited that the best collegiate player in the nation chose to sign with the Dallas Stars,\" said general manager Doug Armstrong. \"We look forward to helping him develop into a solid professional hockey player.\"

Lessard, 23, was bestowed with the 2003-04 Hobey Baker Memorial Award given to the most outstanding player in college hockey. In 45 games this past winter, Lessard registered 32 goals and 31 assists for 63 points. Named after his father Lucien and commonly known as Junior, he led the nation in both goals and points and was selected to the American Hockey Coaches Association All-American first team and the Western Collegiae Hockey Association first team, and was named both the uscho.com and insidecollegehockey.com National Player of the Year.

Lessard, the 2003-04 WCHA Player of the Year, led the Bulldogs in his senior season to a 28-13-4 overall record and their first NCAA Frozen Four appearance since 1985. UMD lost to the University of Denver by a 5-3 score in the semifinal game. Increasing his goal, assist and point totals each season at the UMD, Lessard collected 12 points as a freshman (4-8=12), 30 points his sophomore season (17-13=30), 37 points the next year (21-16-37), before recording his NCAA-high 63 points in 2003-04.

Lessard will attempt to be the 35th former Bulldog to see time in the National Hockey League joining an elite group of UMD hockey alumni including Brett Hull, Shjon Podein, Derek Plante and fellow Hobey Baker Award winners Tom Kurvers, Bill Watson and Chris Marinucci.