Islanders sign two AHL All-Stars, several others

The New York Islanders, parent club of the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, announced today that they have signed center Mike Iggulden and defenseman Brett Skinner to one-year, two-way contracts.

Both players will join the Islanders organization coming off a season which earned them spots in the 2008 AHL All-Star Game.

Iggulden, 25, played 78 games during the 2007-08 campaign with the Worcester Sharks, scoring 29 goals and 37 assists for a career-high 66 points, tops on the Sharks. The Cornell University graduate has totaled 81 goals and 90 assists for 171 points over the last three seasons with San Jose’s AHL affiliate.

The native of St. Catharines, Ont., was recalled by San Jose for his first career NHL game last season on Feb. 18 against the Islanders.

Skinner, 25, also posted the best numbers of his career last season with the P-Bruins, scoring seven goals and 40 assists for 47 points, tops among Providence defensemen. He contributed one assist in 10 Calder Cup Playoff games this spring

A native of Brandon, Man., Skinner has totaled 90 points (17-73-90) in 195 career AHL games with Manitoba, Portland, Omaha, and Providence. Prior to his AHL career, Skinner played three seasons with the University of Denver and won the NCAA championship in both 2004 and 2005.

The Islanders also announced the signings of Kurtis McLean, Chris Lee and Mitch Fritz all to one-year, two-way contracts.

McLean stepped up as one of the most consistent members of the American Hockey League’s Eastern Conference champion Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season. A graduate of Norwich University, McLean compiled career high numbers centering one of the Penguins top lines last season with 22 goals and 32 assists for 54 points in 76 games.

The 27 year-old Kirkland, Ont., native also had 19 points throughout Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s playoff run. The past three seasons in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, McLean has scored 42 goals and 59 assists for 101 points in 163 AHL contests.

Lee is a 27-year old defenseman who spent the 2007-08 season with the Iowa Stars of the AHL, scoring seven goals, 28 assists and 42 penalty minutes in 68 games with the Stars. Lee has registered 11 goals and 35 assists for 46 points to go along with 62 penalty minutes in 104 career AHL games with Albany, Bridgeport, Omaha, and Iowa.

Fritz brings a total of 234 AHL games over the course of eight seasons to the Islanders organization, totaling 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points while compiling 703 penalty minutes. The 27 year-old was a member of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack last season but was hindered by injury, playing in only 11 games, registering a goal and four assists with 34 penalty minutes.
On Wednesday, the Islanders announced the signing of goaltender Yann Danis to a one-year, two-way contract.

Danis has spent the first five years of his pro career in the Montreal Canadiens organization, and he went 11-19-4 with a 3.28 GAA in 38 games for the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs in 2007-08. Danis was also a member of Hamilton’s 2007 Calder Cup championship team.

A native of Lafontaine, Que., Danis shows an 81-67-18 record with a 2.78 GAA and .908 save percentage over 176 career AHL games with the Bulldogs.

He has played in six games for Montreal, compiling a record of 3-2-0 with a 2.69 GAA and a save percentage of .908.

Danis entered the pro ranks following a four-year collegiate career at Brown University, where he played in 100 games and finished with a record of 43-43-12. He also had 13 shutouts to go along with a goals against average of 2.19 and a save percentage of .930. Danis won several collegiate honors, including being named as an NCAA All-American in 2003-04, and he received All-Conference honors in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04.