Chris Casto has decided to forgo his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility as today (March 26) the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League announced they signed the 6-2, 210-pound University of Minnesota Duluth sophomore defenseman to an entry-level contract.

A native of Stillwater, Minn., Casto played in 77 of UMD's 79 games over the past two season and had five goals and 17 assists to show for it. He also possessed the best career plus-minus rating (+22) of any 2012-13 Bulldog. This past winter, the Hill Murray High School alumnus and one-time Lincoln Star (United States Hockey League) finished with nine points in 36 outings and was a +1.

Casto is the 11th Bulldog since 2007 to leave UMD early for the professional ranks, joining wingers Mason Raymond (with Vancouver in 2007), Rob Bordson (Anaheim in 2010), Mike Connolly (San Jose in 2011) and J.T. Brown (Tampa Bay in 2012), defensemen Matt Niskanen (Dallas in 2007), Jason Garrison (Florida in 2008), Evan Oberg (Vancouver in 2009), Dylan Olsen (Chicago in 2010) and Justin Faulk (Carolina in 2011) and goaltender Alex Stalock (San Jose in 2009).