Checkers Sign David Rutherford

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The Checkers added depth to an already deep position on Monday, locking up center David Rutherford to a two-way contract.

Rutherford, 25, spent all of last season with the Checkers’ ECHL affiliate in Florida, where he led the team with 25 goals in 57 games. He also chipped in 30 assists, making him third on the team with 55 points behind Matt Beca and Scott Pitt, who both saw time in Charlotte last season.

The 5-foot-8, 180-pound native of Ladner, British Columbia, also scored 12 points (5g, 7a) in 17 playoff games as the Everblades captured the Kelly Cup Championship – the second title in as many years for Rutherford, who helped the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs claim a Central Hockey League title in 2010-11. Rutherford also won a Memorial Cup in 2008 with the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs, where he was teammates with Carolina Hurricanes prospect Drayson Bowman.

Rutherford is expected to battle for an AHL position at training camp, as the Checkers will have most, if not all, of Zac Dalpe, Sean Dolan, A.J. Jenks, Riley Nash, Brett Sutter and Brody Sutter back from last season’s team pending one or more of those players potentially winning an NHL job. Despite scoring 196 points (97g, 99a) in 220 professional games across the ECHL and CHL, the undrafted Rutherford has yet to make his AHL debut.

Should Rutherford suit up for the Checkers at some point this season, he would become the fifth player to do so for both the ECHL and AHL versions of the Checkers, joining Julien Brouillette, Ethan Graham, Cedric McNicoll and Chris Murray. Rutherford had 26 points (13g, 13a) in 52 games with the Checkers during his rookie season in 2008-09.