Ducks Sign Brian Salcido to One-Year Contract

[Thrillhouse]

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed defenseman Brian Salcido to a one-year contract.

A native of Hermosa Beach, CA, Salcido made his NHL debut with Anaheim in 2008-09, scoring 0-1=1 point with a +2 rating in two games. He appeared in his first NHL contest on Feb. 20 at Detroit and collected his first career NHL point with an assist in a 5-2 Ducks victory on Feb. 21 at Columbus. Salcido, 24 (4/14/85), also appeared in 76 contests with Iowa of the American Hockey League (AHL) last season, earning 10-33=43 points with 108 penalty minutes (PIM). Salcido led all Chops defensemen in scoring, while ranking third overall among his teammates in points and second in assists.

The 6-1, 208-pound defenseman has appeared in the last two AHL All-Star Classics (2008, 2009). He has played three seasons in the AHL with Iowa (2008-09) and Portland (2006-08), scoring 28-95=123 points with 238 PIM in 223 games. In 2007-08, Salcido finished second in scoring among AHL blue-liners with 11-42=53 points in 71 games.

Selected by Anaheim in the fifth round (141st overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Salcido also played three seasons of college hockey with Colorado College of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), scoring 16-55=71 points with 129 PIM in 92 games. In 2005-06, he finished second in the WCHA in points among defensemen, behind Hobey Baker winner Matt Carle (U. of Denver), scoring 8-32=40 points in 42 games. Following the 2005-06 campaign, Salcido was named to the All-WCHA Second Team. His .95 points-per-game tied for fourth in the nation among defensemen.