The New Jersey Devils, parent club of the AHL’s Albany Devils, today announced the signings of 12 players to new contracts: goaltender Maxime Clermont; defenseman Peter Harrold; and forwards Matt Anderson, Bryan Haczyk, Brad Mills, Nathan Perkovich, Tim Sestito, Myles Stoesz, Stephane Veilleux, Joe Whitney, Chad Wiseman and Steve Zalewski.
Haczyk, Perkovich, Stoesz and Whitney were signed to AHL contracts.
Clermont, 19, spent each of the past four seasons with Gatineau (QMJHL), compiling a 90-60-11 mark in 185 appearances. In 48 games last season, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound netminder recorded a career high 28 wins and four shutouts (tie), with a career-best 2.55 goals-against average. Clermont also won 11 playoff games and added one shutout en-route to the QMJHL finals.
Clermont was New Jersey’s sixth-round choice in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.
Harrold, 28, spent each of the past five seasons with the Los Angeles Kings organization. He appeared in 19 games last season, recording one goal and three assists for four points and four penalty minutes. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound defenseman has compiled eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points and 50 penalty minutes in 164 career NHL appearances.
An AHL All-Star in 2007 and 2008, Harrold played 111 games over two AHL seasons with Manchester, totaling 14 goals and 63 assists for 77 points.
Anderson, 28, enters his second season with the organization after leading Albany (AHL) with 32 assists and 55 points last season, while finishing second with 23 goals. He also represented the team at the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound forward originally signed with the club on July 21, 2010 after spending the previous three-plus seasons with Chicago (AHL).
Anderson, a member of the Wolves’ 2008 Calder Cup Championship team, has played 219 career AHL games, recording 53 goals and 80 assists for 133 points.
Haczyk, 24, spent the last four seasons at Niagara University, compiling 46 goals and 49 assists for 95 points and 91 penalty minutes in 144 games. He recorded career highs of 28 goals, 17 assists, 45 points and 34 penalty minutes last season. The 5-foot-9, 185-pound forward was named to Atlantic Hockey’s 2011 First All-Star and All-Academic Teams.
Mills, 28, enters his fifth year with the organization after seeing action with both Albany (53 games) and New Jersey (4) last season. The 6-foot, 195-pound forward recorded 15 goals and nine assists for 24 points and 102 penalty minutes with the AHL Devils last season.
Mills made his NHL debut on Oct. 30, 2010, at Los Angeles and recorded his first goal/point Nov. 3 at Chicago. In 203 AHL games with Albany/Lowell, Mills has registered 33 goals and 35 assists for 68 points.
Perkovich, 25, enters his third season with the organization after recording eight goals and nine assists for 17 points and 59 penalty minutes in 40 games with Albany last season. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound forward has 27 goals and 23 assists for 50 points and 140 penalty minutes in 108 games over two seasons for New Jersey’s top development teams.
Perkovich was New Jersey’s eighth-round choice in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
Sestito, 26, appeared in 36 games with New Jersey and 23 contests with Albany last season. He collected two assists with the NHL Devils, as well as five goals and eight assists for 13 points for the AHL Devils. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound forward is entering his third season with the team after being acquired on July 9, 2009.
Sestito has appeared in 230 career AHL games with Albany/Lowell, Springfield, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Bridgeport, notching 37 goals and 39 assists for 76 points along with 336 PIM. He has three assists in 46 career NHL contests with New Jersey and Edmonton.
Stoesz, 24, split each of the last two seasons between the Devils’ AHL and ECHL affiliates. In 2010-11, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound forward recorded one goal and three assists for four points and 165 penalty minutes in 37 games with Trenton (ECHL), while also appearing in seven games for Albany.
A 2005 draft pick by Atlanta, Stoesz has totaled one goal, one assist and 178 PIM in 42 career AHL games.
A Calder Cup champion with Houston in 2003, the 29-year-old Veilleux spent last season in Finland and Switzerland. His seven-season NHL career includes 46 goals and 53 assists for 99 points in 438 appearances with Minnesota and Tampa Bay.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound forward played four AHL seasons with Houston (2001-05), recording 49 goals and 75 assists for 124 points in 229 games. Veilleux was originally a third-round draft pick by Minnesota in 2001.
Whitney, 23, spent the past four seasons at Boston College, where he totaled 40 goals and 102 assists for 142 points and 207 penalty minutes in 161 games played. In 2010-11, the 5-foot-6, 165-pound forward recorded five goals and 26 assists for 31 points and 60 penalty minutes in 39 appearances.
A member of the Eagles’ 2008 and 2010 NCAA championship teams, Whitney made his pro debut by appearing in one game with Portland (AHL) at the conclusion of his collegiate career.
Wiseman, 30, rejoined the Devils’ organization last season, recording 16 goals and 28 assists for 44 points and 47 penalty minutes in 48 games with Albany. The 10-year veteran has appeared in 530 career AHL games, recording 163 goals and 236 assists for 399 points.
San Jose’s eighth-round draft pick in 2000, Wiseman has skated in nine career NHL contests with the Sharks and N.Y. Rangers, notching one goal and one assist.
Zalewski, 25, appeared in 81 AHL games last season between Albany and Worcester, totaling 15 goals and 29 assists for 44 points. In 241 career AHL games, Zalewski has recorded 52 goals and 99 assists for 151 points.
A fifth-round pick by San Jose in the 2004 NHL draft, Zalewski has appeared in three career NHL games, all with the Sharks in 2009-10.