The Anaheim Ducks, parent club of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch, have signed defenseman Danny Syvret to a one-year contract through the 2010-11 NHL season.
Syvret, 25, appeared in 21 games for the Philadelphia Flyers last season, earning two goals and two assists with a plus-1 rating and 12 penalty minutes. Syvret’s first career NHL goal was the opening tally of the 2010 Bridgestone Winter Classic on Jan. 1 at Fenway Park, a 2-1 Flyers loss to the Boston Bruins. Syvret scored his second career goal two games later in a 6-2 win over Toronto on Jan. 6 at Wachovia Center.
The 5-foot-11, 203-pound defenseman spent the remainder of the season with Philadelphia’s American Hockey League affiliate in Adirondack, picking up five goals and eight assists with six PIM in 15 games.
Acquired by Philadelphia from Edmonton in exchange for Ryan Potulny on June 6, 2008, Syvret has played four NHL seasons with the Oilers (2005-07) and Flyers (2008-10). In 49 career NHL games, Syvret has earned 2-3=5 points with 24 PIM. The Millgrove, Ont., native has also appeared in five AHL seasons with Hamilton (2005-06), Grand Rapids (2006-07), Springfield (2007-08), Hershey (2007-08), Philadelphia (2008-09) and Adirondack (2009-10), scoring 23 goals and 107 assists for 130 points with 147 PIM. He was named a First Team AHL All-Star in 2008-09 after posting career highs in goals, assists and points and finishing second among all AHL defensemen in scoring (12-45=57).
Originally selected by Edmonton in the third round (81st overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Syvret captained the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights to the 2005 Memorial Cup championship and was named to the 2005 Memorial Cup all-tournament team. Syvret, who won the Memorial Cup alongside current Anaheim right wing Corey Perry, also won gold at the 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship with a Canadian team that included Perry and Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf. At the conclusion of the 2004-05 junior season, Syvret was named the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) and OHL Defenseman of the Year and named as an OHL and CHL first-team All-Star.
