The Chicago Blackhawks, National Hockey League affiliate of the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, have agreed to terms on a two-year contract with forward Drew LeBlanc and on one-year contracts with defensemen Theo Peckham and Mike Kostka.
LeBlanc, 24, made his National Hockey League debut with Chicago in 2012-13, skating in two regular-season games after being signed by the club on April 12. The 2013 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner registered 50 points (13 goals, 37 assists) in 42 games with St. Cloud State University, helping lead the Huskies to their first Frozen Four appearance in program history.
LeBlanc was named a West First Team All-American after leading the nation in assists and tying for seventh in overall scoring. He set career highs in points, goals and assists, and tied his career-best in game-winning goals with three. LeBlanc tallied 147 points (42 goals, 105 assists) in 171 career games at St. Cloud State. He was named to the 2013 All-WCHA First Team and, for the first time in the 52-year history of the WCHA, was named Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year and Player of the Year. LeBlanc, a two-year team captain for the Huskies, was a four-time Academic All-WCHA nominee and was named the 2012 WCHA Scholar Athlete recipient.
Peckham, 25, registered one assist and 29 penalty minutes in four AHL games with Oklahoma City in 2012-13, and also appeared in four NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers and four ECHL games with San Francisco.
A former third-round draft pick by the Oilers (2006), Peckham has skated in 147 career AHL games with Oklahoma City and Springfield, recording 12 goals and 27 assists for 39 points along with 416 PIM. The Richmond Hill, Ont., native has also posted 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) and 388 PIM in 160 career NHL games with Edmonton.
Kostka, 27, split the 2012-13 season between the Toronto Maple Leafs and American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies. The Etobicoke, Ont., native tallied eight assists and 27 penalty minutes in 35 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs, his first career NHL appearances. He also skated in one postseason game.
Kostka paced Marlies defensemen and ranked fifth overall on the club with 34 points (six goals, 28 assists) in 34 regular-season games in 2012-13. He has tallied 37 goals and 146 assists for 183 points, along with a plus-33 rating, in 341 career AHL games and won a Calder Cup with Norfolk in 2012.
