The Pittsburgh Penguins, parent club of the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, have signed forwards Wade Brookbank and Wyatt Smith, it was announced on Friday.
Smith split the 2008-09 season between Norfolk and San Antonio of the AHL, combining for 47 points (19 goals, 28 assists) in 71 games.
Selected in the ninth round (233rd overall) of the 1997 NHL Draft by the Phoenix Coyotes, Smith has recorded 32 points (10g, 22a) in 211 career NHL games with the Coyotes, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders, Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche.
The 5-11, 205-pound native of Thief River Falls, Minn., has also appeared in 474 career AHL games with Springfield, Milwaukee, Bridgeport, Houston, Lake Erie, Norfolk and San Antonio, recording 147 goals and 192 assists for 339 points and 481 penalty minutes. He won a Calder Cup championship with Milwaukee in 2004, defeating Wilkes-Barre in the Finals.
Brookbank recorded one goal in 27 NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes and one assist in 24 AHL games with the Norfolk Admirals last season.
The native of Lanigan, Sask., appeared in 39 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton during the 2006-07 regular season, posting one goal and 116 penalty minutes after being acquired by Pittsburgh from the Boston Bruins on Dec. 19, 2006.
The 6-4, 225-pound pro has appeared in 127 NHL games with the Hurricanes, Bruins, Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators, recording nine points (6g, 3a) and 345 penalty minutes.
In 255 AHL games with Grand Rapids, Binghamton, Milwaukee, Manitoba, Providence, Albany, Norfolk and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he has posted 11 points (2g, 9a) and 904 penalty minutes.
