The Columbus Blue Jackets, parent club of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, announced today that they have signed left wing John Vigilante and defensemen Andrei Plekhanov and Clay Wilson to two-way contracts.
Plekhanov received a two-year contract, while Vigilante and Wilson each agreed to one-year deals.
Vigilante, 23, has spent his first two professional seasons as a member of the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, registering 73 points (23-50-73) and 22 penalty minutes in 135 games. In 2007-08, he ranked fourth on the Admirals with a career-high 46 points (15-31-46) and recorded 12 penalty minutes in 73 games.
A native of Dearborn, Mich., Vigilante played four seasons with the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League, collecting 246 points (93-153-246) and 107 penalty minutes in 254 career games from 2002-06.
Wilson, 25, appeared in a combined 71 AHL games last season for Portland and Syracuse, notching 47 points (14-33-47) and 35 penalty minutes, good for fifth in the AHL in scoring among defensemen. He was selected to play in the 2008 AHL All-Star Game.
The Sturgeon Lake, Minn., native also made his NHL debut for Columbus in 2007-08 and registered two points (1-1-2) and two penalty minutes in seven games.
Wilson has totaled 127 points (33-94-127) and 127 penalty minutes in 210 career AHL games for Grand Rapids, Portland, and Syracuse.
Plekhanov, who turns 22 on July 12, appeared in 40 games for the Crunch last season, his first in North America, collecting 25 points (9-16-25) and 10 penalty minutes. The native of Nizhnekamsk, Russia, added 3 points (1-2-3) in eight Calder Cup Playoffs games.
Plekhanov was originally drafted in the third round (96th overall) by Columbus in 2004.
