Sitting in the Dane County Regional Airport Monday night, waiting for a flight out of Madison to begin his new life, Kyle Turris reflected on his one and only season as a member of the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team.

"I was extremely happy this year," he said. "I loved it. That whole atmosphere with the campus life, the facilities, all the guys on the team, the coaching staff. I mean, I loved every single bit of it."

But the opportunity that awaits him was too enticing to pass up.

Turris, an 18-year-old center from New Westminster, British Columbia, has agreed to sign a NHL entry level contract with Phoenix, thus bypassing his final three years of college eligibility.

The Coyotes chose Turris with the third overall pick of the 2007 NHL draft and have been making not-so-secret overtures in recent weeks that they wanted to sign him as soon as his college season ended.

That moment came Sunday night when the Badgers lost to North Dakota in the NCAA Midwest regional championship game at the Kohl Center.

Tom Kurvers, the director of player personnel for Phoenix, was on hand for the regional that saw Turris make several big-time plays and become the fourth freshman in school history to lead UW in scoring (11 goals, 24 assists, 35 points).

"He's a very talented player and a big part of our future," Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said of Turris in a statement. "By adding him to the roster, we hope to give him valuable experience that will help him heading into next season and beyond."

Turris is projected to play for Phoenix in its final three games of the regular season. The Coyotes were eliminated from NHL playoff contention Sunday.

"I told Phoenix from the start that when they wanted me to come and play and they thought I was ready, that I'd go," Turris said. "I would have loved to come back to Wisconsin for another year, too. I would have done either."

Turris met with UW coach Mike Eaves Monday afternoon, then spoke with a host of teammates before heading out. Turris said he will be back in school next week, intent on finishing out the semester.

Eaves didn't return a message left on his cell phone Monday night.

Is Turris ready for this jump? One of the issues he had this season was a distinct lack of upper-body strength on a frame listed generously at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds.

"I guess we'll see," Turris said.

Bruce Turris, Kyle's father, said Monday night that Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky told him that Kyle couldn't have been a better learning environment for hockey than the one at UW.

"I remember (Gretzky) saying to Kyle at one point that he felt Mike Eaves was the best coach at preparing people for the NHL," Bruce Turris said.

Turris is the sixth underclassmen to jump to the NHL since Eaves took over as Badgers coach in 2002. The only other freshman to do so was defenseman Ryan Suter of Madison in 2004 with Nashville.

"He's been unbelievable," Turris said of Eaves. "I can't thank him enough for how patient he 's been with me this year. He's taught me so many things."