Avalanche sign eight

The Colorado Avalanche, parent club of the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, have announced the signings of eight players who skated in the American Hockey League last season.

The Avalanche have signed forwards Reid Petryk and Trent Vogelhuber to two-year contracts; and defenseman Ryan Stanton, goaltender Jeremy Smith and forwards Turner Elson, Jim O’BrienMike Sislo and Joe Whitney to one-year deals.

Whitney, 28, spent the 2015-16 season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL), tallying 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points in 36 games before suffering a season-ending injury.

An AHL All-Star in 2014 and 2015, Whitney has played 314 career AHL games with Bridgeport, Albany and Portland, recording 100 goals and 142 assists for 242 points.

Whitney has appeared in five career NHL games with New Jersey, tallying one goal.

Vogelhuber, 27, won a Calder Cup championship with Lake Erie in 2015-16, recording career highs in goals (11), assists (16) and points (27) in 70 regular-season games and adding two goals and five assists in 17 playoff contests.

A seventh-round draft choice by Columbus in 2007, Vogelhuber has skated in 193 career AHL games with Lake Erie and Springfield, registering 24 goals and 35 assists for 59 points.

Stanton, 26, notched four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 64 regular-season games with Hershey (AHL) in 2015-16, and added three goals and two assists in 21 playoff games as the Bears reached the Calder Cup Finals.

A native of St. Albert, Alta., Stanton has appeared in 120 career NHL games — including one with Washington in 2015-16 — and has recorded four goals and 23 assists for 27 points with Washington, Vancouver and Chicago.

Smith, 27, appeared in 43 AHL games between Providence and Iowa in 2015-16, going 18-19-4 with a 2.52 goals-against average, a .921 save percentage and one shutout.

Selected by Nashville in the second round (54th overall) of the 2007 Entry Draft, Smith is entering his eighth professional season this fall. He has played 248 career AHL games with Providence, Iowa, Springfield and Milwaukee, posting a record of 127-90-19 with a 2.42 GAA, a .917 save percentage and 13 shutouts.

Sislo, 28, had a career year in 2015-16, registering 27 goals and 26 assists for 53 points in 57 games with Albany (AHL) while picking up three goals and an assist in 18 NHL games with New Jersey, including scoring his first two NHL goals in the same game — Mar. 17 vs. Minnesota.

A native of Superior, Wis., Sislo also represented the Devils at the 2016 AHL All-Star Classic.

Sislo has played 304 career AHL games, all with Albany, and has amassed 92 goals and 95 assists for 187 points. He has three goals and two assists in 42 career NHL contests with New Jersey.

Petryk, 23, has spent the past two seasons in the Avalanche’s system, picking up 15 goals and 22 assists for 37 points in 72 games with San Antonio in his first full AHL campaign in 2015-16.

Petryk has 19 goals and 31 assists for 50 points in 109 career AHL contests with San Antonio and Lake Erie.

O’Brien, 27, was Ottawa’s first-round pick (29th overall) in the 2007 Entry Draft. A Calder Cup winner with Binghamton in 2011, O’Brien has 79 goals and 105 assists for 184 points in 322 AHL games with Binghamton, Hershey and Albany.

Last season, O’Brien appeared in 56 regular-season contests with Albany, registering 19 goals and 19 assists. He also skated in four NHL contests with New Jersey.

For his career, the native of Maplewood, Minn., has eight goals and four assists in 67 NHL games with New Jersey and Ottawa.

Elson, 23, recorded 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points in 63 games with Stockton (AHL) in 2015-16, and made his NHL debut in Calgary’s season finale at Minnesota on Apr. 9.

Elson has appeared in 162 career AHL games with Stockton, Adirondack and Abbotsford, tallying 33 goals and 30 assists for 63 points.