The Chicago Blackhawks have claimed center Andrew Ebbett off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks and have recalled right wing Jack Skille from the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs.
Ebbett, 26, has been held scoreless in two regular-season games with Anaheim, after recording one assist and two penalty minutes in five preseason contests with the Ducks. The Vernon, British Columbia native split the 2008-09 campaign between Anaheim and the AHL’s Iowa Chops, tallying a career-best 32 points (8G, 24A) in 48 regular-season NHL games and adding a goal and two assists in 13 Stanley Cup Playoff contests. He also netted 10 goals and 19 assists in 28 regular-season games with Iowa.
Ebbett ranked sixth in the AHL with 54 assists and 11th with 72 points in 74 games with the Portland Pirates in 2007-08, leading the club in both categories. He helped the Pirates advance to the Eastern Conference Final in the Calder Cup Playoffs, posting 17 points (6G, 11A) and a +4 plus/minus rating in 16 postseason tilts. Ebbett made his NHL debut at the end of the 2007-08 season, recording a +4 plus/minus rating and two penalty minutes in three regular-season games with Anaheim.
Signed as a free agent by the Ottawa Senators after a four-year collegiate career at the University of Michigan, Ebbett made his professional debut with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators in 2006-07, leading the Senators with 39 assists and ranking second with 65 points in 71 regular-season games.
Skille, 22, has notched two points (G, A) in four games with the Blackhawks this season, which includes a goal in Wednesday’s win over Edmonton and an assist in Thursday’s victory at Nashville. The seventh overall pick in the 2005 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Skille registered one goal in three North American preseason games with Chicago before being held scoreless in the team’s two contests in Zurich, Switzerland as part of the Victoria Cup. The Madison, Wisconsin, native has appeared in 28 games with the Blackhawks over the last three seasons (2007-09) collecting eight points (5G, 3A), which includes posting one goal in eight regular-season outings in 2008-09.