Gulls sign six to AHL deals

Photo: Christian Bonin

The San Diego Gulls announced that they have signed forwards Alex Broadhurst, Brent Gates Jr. and Luke Gazdic, defensemen Hunter Drew and Steven Ruggiero, and goaltender Roman Durny to one-year contracts for the 2019-20 AHL season.

Broadhurst, 26, skated in 51 games last season with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, totaling eight goals and 22 assists for 30 points. The native of Orland Park, Ill., has played 333 regular-season games over six AHL seasons with Cleveland/Lake Erie and Rockford, recording 70 goals and 121 assists for 191 points.

Broadhurst, who won a Calder Cup with Lake Erie in 2016, was a seventh-round choice by Chicago in the 2011 NHL Draft and has appeared in two career NHL games, both with Columbus in 2017-18.

Gates, 22, made his pro debut with San Diego last season and tallied one goal and one assist in six games after completing his senior season at the University of Minnesota. He notched 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in 38 games with the Gophers as a senior in 2018-19.

Gates was a third-round pick by Anaheim in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Gazdic, 30, appeared in 20 games with San Diego last season, notching three goals and four assists for seven points. He enters his 11th pro season having played 390 AHL games with San Diego, Stockton, Albany, Bakersfield, Oklahoma City and Texas, totaling 35 goals and 41 assists for 76 points.

A sixth-round pick by Dallas in the 2007 NHL Draft, Gazdic has five goals and three assists in 147 career NHL games with Edmonton and New Jersey.

Drew, 20, was a sixth-round choice by Anaheim in the 2018 NHL Draft. He completed his junior career at Charlottetown (QMJHL) last season, notching 16 goals and 34 assists for 50 points in 61 games.

Ruggiero, 22, tallied six goals and five assists in 37 games at Lake Superior State University as a senior in 2018-19. He was selected by Anaheim in the sixth round of the 2015 NHL Draft.

Durny, 21, made 50 appearances with Des Moines (USHL) last season and went 29-19-1 with a 2.61 goals-against average, a .909 save percentage and six shutouts. A fifth-round choice by Anaheim in the 2018 NHL Draft, Durny represented his native Slovakia at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, where he led all tournament goaltenders with a .929 save percentage.