University of Minnesota Duluth junior defenseman Dylan Samberg has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the National Hockey League's Winnipeg Jets and thus will forgo his final season of collegiate eligibility. 

Samberg, a second-round pick of the Jets in the 2017 NHL Draft (43rd selection overall), established a career best for scoring this past winter, accumulating 21 points on one goal and 20 assists in 28 games while going a +17. As a sophomore, the Hermantown, Minn., native owned the best plus-minus rating (+22) of any Bulldog, sharing the top with defensive partner Mikey Anderson, and during the Christmas Holidays skated with Team USA for the second consecutive year at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championships (becoming just the fourth Bulldog to ever make a repeat visit to that event). For his career, Samberg took shifts in 109 games and had 53 points (nine goals and 44 assists) to show for it. He also was a +44 as a Bulldog.

Samberg is the 22nd Bulldog since 2007 -- and third this spring -- to leave UMD early for the professional ranks, joining forwards Mason Raymond (with Vancouver in 2007),  Rob Bordson (Anaheim in 2010), Mike Connolly (San Jose in 2011), J.T. Brown (Tampa Bay in 2012), Caleb Herbert (Washington in 2014), Adam Johnson (Pittsburgh in 2017), Joey Anderson (New Jersey in 2018), Riley Tufte (Dallas in 2019), and Justin Richards (New York Rangers in 2020), defensemen Matt Niskanen (Dallas in 2007), Jason Garrison (Florida in 2008), Evan Oberg (Vancouver in 2009), Dylan Olsen (Chicago in 2010), Justin Faulk (Carolina in 2011), Chris Casto (Boston in 2013), Neal Pionk (New York Rangers in 2017), Mikey Anderson (Los Angeles in 2019) and Scott Perunovich (St. Louis Blues in 2020) and goaltenders Alex Stalock (San Jose in 2009), Kasimir Kaskisuo (Toronto in 2016) and Hunter Miska (Phoenix in 2017).