The town of Austin might just have a new favorite player on the Minnesota Wild after they signed former Austin Bruin Christian Folin Tuesday.

Folin, a 23-year old defenseman who played two years of college hockey at University of Massachusets-Lowell, signed a two-year, entry-level contract and is expected to join the Wild in Chicago.

“Christian is an impressive package of size, mobility, and puck-moving ability,” said Wild Assistant General Manager Brent Flahr in a press release. “He plays a very mature game that we feel should allow him transition to the NHL very quickly. We’re very excited to have Christian join the Wild and further add to our group of emerging young players.”

Austin head coach Chris Tok recalls Folin being a kid with potential when he showed up to play for the Bruins, but he couldn’t believe how fast Folin got to the NHL.

“When we first saw him play he definitely had that potential,” Tok said. “We saw he had something special, I just can’t believe that after two years he’s already going to be playing in an NHL game this week. It’s almost like a time warp.”

Folin had 41 points in 87 games while playing for the Bruins.

He had 20 points this past season for UMass-Lowell with 20 points and three game-winning goals in 41 games. The 6-foot-3, 215 pound native of Gothenburg, Sweden, helped the RiverHawks win the Hockey East Conference tournament this season and led them to the Frozen Four last year with 21 points.

Tok said the signing is huge for Folin and it’s also big for the Bruins to have one of their players move on to the professional level just a couple of years after they had been playing in Riverside Arena.

“That’s pretty special. He’s a great kid and that makes it even better,” Tok said. “He’s worked pretty hard and it’s fantastic for him and the program.”