The Chicago Blackhawks, parent club of the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, have signed forwards Evan Brophey, Nathan Davis and Hugh Jessiman, defenseman Jassen Cullimore, and goaltender Hannu Toivonen to one-year contracts.
Brophey, 23, recorded 14 goals, 17 assists, and 39 penalty minutes in 79 regular-season games with the IceHogs during the 2009-10 campaign, before being held scoreless in four postseason contests.
Selected in the third round (67th overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by Chicago, the Kitchener, Ont., native has tallied 89 points (34g, 55a) in 232 regular-season tilts with Rockford over the last three years. He was named Rockford’s most improved player in 2008-09 after recording career highs in points, assists and goals.
Cullimore, 38, tallied two goals, eight assists, and 52 penalty minutes in 59 regular-season contests with the IceHogs in 2009-10. The Simcoe, Ont., native is a veteran of 776 career National Hockey League regular-season games, racking up 77 assists, 103 points and 696 penalty minutes with the Vancouver Canucks (1994-96), Montreal Canadiens (1996-98), Tampa Bay Lightning (1998-2004), Blackhawks (2005-07) and Florida Panthers (2007-09).
Cullimore, who helped Tampa Bay capture the 2004 Stanley Cup, skated in his 1,000th career professional game with Rockford on Feb. 15, 2010. He was selected 29th overall by the Canucks in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.
Davis, 24, recorded eight goals, three assists and a plus-7 rating in 23 regular-season tilts with Rockford before missing the final four months of the season due to injury. Selected by Chicago in the fourth round (113th overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, the Rocky River, Ohio, native has posted 13 goals and 10 assists in 72 regular-season games over two seasons with Rockford.
Jessiman, 26, ranked third on the Milwaukee Admirals during the 2009-10 season with a career-high 20 goals and a career-best 42 points in 78 regular-season AHL contests. Selected 12th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers, Jessiman has posted 72 goals, 71 assists, and 512 penalty minutes in 316 regular-season AHL tilts over parts of five seasons with Hartford (2005-08) and Milwaukee (2008-10).
Toivonen, 25, was originally acquired by the Blackhawks on Mar. 1, 2010, in a trade with the St. Louis Blues. He notched a 1-4-0 record with a 3.44 goals-against average and an .883 save percentage in six regular-season appearances with the IceHogs. The Kalvola, Finland, native also posted an 11-11-3 record with a 2.73 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage in 26 games with Peoria during the 2009-10 season.
Selected by the Boston Bruins in the first round (29th overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Toivonen has appeared in 61 career NHL contests with Boston (2005-07) and St. Louis (2007-08), registering an 18-24-10 record with a 3.37 goals against average and an .890 save percentage.
