MOSCOW, Apr 9 Boston Bruins National Hockey League (NHL) club «signed a rookie contract with Russian striker Georgy Merkulov, according to the team's website. The agreement is for three years and comes into force from the beginning of next season. He will become the first Russian player in the current squad of Boston. Merkulov is 21 years old, he is a graduate of CSKA. Also in Russia, he represented the Stupin «Captain», which is the farm club of «Sochi», and «Tambov». In the US, he played for the Youngstown Fantoms of the US Hockey League (USHL) and the Ohio University team. In two seasons at Youngstown, he played 74 games and scored 73 points (20 goals and 53 assists).
