Colorado, Arizona exchange forwards

Image made during the second period of an AHL hockey game between the Milwaukee Admirals and the San Antonio Rampage, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016, in San Antonio. (Darren Abate/AHL)

The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced Wednesday that the team has acquired forward Brendan Ranford from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for forward Joe Whitney. Ranford will be assigned to the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League.

Ranford, 24, has skated in a combined 46 games with the Texas Stars (AHL) and the Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) this season, totaling 17 points (6g/11a). Philadelphia’s sixth selection (seventh round, 209th overall) in the 2010 NHL Draft, Ranford is in his fourth professional season and has recorded 160 points (55g/105a) in 260 career AHL games. He made his NHL debut for the Dallas Stars on Feb. 19, 2015. A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Ranford played six seasons with the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League from 2007-13.

The 29-year-old Whitney has appeared in 329 career American Hockey League games, as well as five in the National Hockey League with the New Jersey Devils. This season with the Rampage, the 5-6, 171-pound Whitney has appeared in 55 games with 11 goals and 28 points.