Rockford, IL. - The Rockford IceHogs and General Manager Mark Bernard announced Tuesday that the team has signed defenseman Tommy Budnick to a one-year AHL contract.

Budnick played his first professional season last year mostly with the Wheeling Nailers, recording 15 points (3G,12A) in 43 regular season games.

“Coming off a strong first year in the pro game, we are excited to bring in Tommy to our organization”, said Bernard. “We look forward to watching him grow his game further this upcoming season.”

Last December, the defenseman signed a PTO with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and made his AHL debut on Dec. 28 vs. the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

A native of Petoskey, MI, Budnick spent five seasons in the OHL between three teams before making the jump to pro hockey. The 22-year-old spent parts of four years with the Kingston Frontenacs before moving on to the Guelph Storm and Brantford Bulldogs.

The left-shot defenseman finished his juniors careers earning 84 points in 233 games.