Blue Jackets, Falcons make moves as offseason progresses |
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July 9, 2012
SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Falcons, American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Columbus Blue Jackets, are gearing up for the 2012-2013 season, their 19th in competition.
The Blue Jackets, who will serve as Springfield's affiliate for the third-straight season, have been active at the start of the NHL's free-agency period, which began on July 1.
On July 1, Columbus signed veteran defenseman Adrian Aucoin to a one-year contract for the 2012-2013 campaign.
A 39-year-old, Aucoin has collected 395 points (121 goals, 274 assists) to go along with 777 penalty minutes and a plus-54 rating in 1,072 NHL games with the Vancouver Canucks, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks, Calgary Flames, and the Phoenix Coyotes.
Aucoin, a native of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, was selected by Vancouver in the fifth round (117th overall) in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft.
Columbus also signed left wing Jonathan Audy-Marchessault to a three-year entry level contract.
A second-year pro, Audy-Marchessault skated his rookie season of 2011-2012 with the AHL's Connecticut Whale, accumulating 24 goals and 40 assists for 64 points and was plus-1, skating in all 76 games.
Audy-Marchessault, 21, a product of Cap-Rouge, Quebec, played his entire major-junior career with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Quebec Remparts, recording 239 points (98 goals, 141 assists) and a combined plus-93 rating in 254 games prior to turning pro.
The Blue Jackets bolstered their depth in net as well, inking goaltender Curtis McElhinney to a one-year, two-way NHL-AHL contract.
The 29-year-old from London, Ontario, has participated in 69-career NHL games, going 19-26-4 with a 0.899 save percentage and a 3.09 goals-against average while posting two shutouts. McElhinney, an eight-year pro, spent the majority of 2011-2012 with the AHL's Portland Pirates, posting a 10-13-0 record with a 0.907 save percentage and a 1.67 goals-against average.
He was 1-0-0 with a 0.944 save percentage and a 1.67 goals-against average in two appearances with the Phoenix Coyot#es last season. McElhinney was taken in the sixth round (176th overall) by the Calgary Flames in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.
Columbus also acquired left wing Nick Foligno from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for defenseman Marc Methot.
Foligno posted 148 points (61 goals, 87 assists) in 351 career games with Ottawa from 2007-2012. In 2011-2012, the 24-year-old from Buffalo, N.Y., notched career highs in assists (32), points (47), and penalty minutes (124) while skating in all 82 games.
Foligno scored a goal and added three assists for four points and eight penalty minutes in seven games during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He was selected in the first round (28th overall) by Ottawa in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
The Blue Jackets and Falcons announced on July 5 that they signed goaltender Paul Dainton, left wing Tim Spencer, and center Nathan Moon to one-year AHL contracts for the 2012-2013 season.
Dainton, a second-year pro, played in 28 games with the Falcons in 2011-2012 as a rookie, posting a 13-12-1 record, a 0.893 save percentage, and a 3.11 goals-against average.
The 25-year-old from Halifax, Nova Scotia played in 21 games with the East Coast Hockey League's (ECHL) Chicago Express and Reading Royals in 2011-2012 as well, combining for a 7-5-3 record with a 0.905 save percentage and a 3.21-goals-against average. He made his professional debut with Springfield at the end of the 2010-2011 campaign, going 2-2-0 in five appearances with a 0.912 save percentage and a 2.63 goals-against average.
Prior to turning pro, Dainton skated four seasons collegiately at the University of Massachusetts Amherst from 2007 to 2011, putting together a career record of 45-61-12 along with a 0.908 save percentage and a 2.79 goals-against average.
Spencer, a product of Cardiff, Saskatchewan, returns to Springfield after participating in 30 games with the Falcons in 2011-2012, notching two goals and 49 penalty minutes.
The 26-year-old enforcer has played in the AHL in each of his last four pro seasons, having also skated with the Binghamton Senators and Manitoba Moose. Spencer has totaled four points (three goals, one assist) and 246 penalty minutes in 84 career AHL games. The sixth-year pro has played in 166 ECHL games with the Alaska Aces, Las Vegas Wranglers, Elmira Jackals, Florida Everblades, Chicago Express and Trenton Titans, combining for 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) and 541 penalty minutes.
Moon, 22, skated all of his rookie campaign of 2011-2012 with the AHL's Worcester Sharks, collecting 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) and 149 penalty minutes, both fourth-best on the club, in 72 games.
He embarked on his professional career at the end of the 2010-2011 season, skating in seven playoff games for the CHL's Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, scoring a goal and adding 15 penalty minutes while helping the club capture the league championship.
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