Aces Sign Bobby Hughes and James Reid

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The Alaska Aces have signed forward Bobby Hughes and goaltender James Reid for the 2012-2013 season, Head Coach Rob Murray announced on Thursday. Hughes joins the Aces for his first season in Alaska, while Reid returns for his second campaign with the club, after being assigned from the AHL late last season.

Hughes, at just 24 years of age, joins the Aces for his sixth pro season and first with the Aces. The Richmond Hill, Ontario product has previously skated in the AHL, ECHL, CHL, and last season played professionally in Germany. In a shortened campaign of only 10 regular season games, the 5'11", 180 lbs. Hughes still made a large impact with 6 goals, 9 assists, 15 points and 96 penalty minutes. He added 9 points (5g, 4a) and 46 PIM in six postseason games. The majority of his career has been split between the AHL and CHL, where Hughes has played 58 and 60 regular season games, respectively. After a terrific junior career in the OHL, Hughes turned pro with the Albany River Rats of the AHL in the 2007-2008 season. In 58 combined games for the River Rats and Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Hughes had 23 points (10g, 23a). His most recent North American campaign came in 2010-2011 when he had 41 points (13g, 28a) in 49 games for the Wichita Thunder of the CHL. There he was teammates with recently signed Aces forward, Matt Robinson. He has spent 19 career games in the ECHL, most recently playing in 17 for the Utah Grizzlies in 2009-2010.

Prior to turning pro, Hughes was one of the premier players in the OHL. Hughes put together a remarkable OHL career with 253 points (103g, 150a) in 243 games for the Kingston Frontenacs. It was highlighted by his final season in 2006-2007, when he led the Frontenacs in scoring and finished 10th in the OHL with 96 points (40g, 56a) in 59 games. He finished that season ahead of NHL star, Steven Stamkos on the OHL scoring leaderboard. In the preceding summer, Hughes was selected in the fourth round (#123rd overall) by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Hughes was also a member of Ontario's Under 17 Team at the World Hockey Challenge. Murray said that he was excited to see what Hughes could produce with a full season in Alaska.

"Bobby is a tremendously gifted hockey player. He's got an uncanny ability to score, and plays a lot bigger than his size," Murray said. "Due to a bit of bad luck with injuries and other circumstances he hasn't had the chance to showcase his best at the pro level yet. There are a lot of people out there - including me - who believe that once he gets that chance, he'll be explosive. Bobby has proven that he is a guy you can build an offense around, and I'm expecting him to be a big part of ours this season."

Reid, 21, returns to Alaska after vaulting himself into the starting role late last season with the Aces. With goaltenders Gerald Coleman and Adam Courchaine called up to the AHL, Reid joined Alaska and took the ECHL by storm. Reid was assigned to the Aces by the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL in late February, and in nine games with Alaska posted a 6-2-1 record with a 2.09 GAA and .910 save percentage. The 6'0", 190 lbs. Calgary, Alberta native held his opponents to two goals or fewer in seven of those nine starts, and held them to a single goal five times. On March 19, Reid was named the ECHL Goaltender of the Week after posting a pair of wins in Colorado, stopping 37 of 39 combined shots. Reid saw one game of playoff action, relieving Coleman in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals and stopping all 13 shots he faced against Las Vegas.

Reid's season-ending stint with the Aces was part of his rookie season that took him to three leagues. He made his pro debut with the Monsters last October, before being assigned to the Allen Americans of the CHL. He then went back and forth from Allen to Lake Erie on multiple occasions, but never in a starting role. Before joining the Aces, Reid had only played in five games with Lake Erie and three games with Allen, and had only four overall starts.

"James is a guy that couldn't find a regular spot early in the season between Allen and Lake Erie, but once he was given a chance here in Alaska, he responded in huge fashion," Murray said. "He came into a difficult situation and showed us and the rest of the hockey world what a quality goaltender he was. We probably couldn't have hung on for the Brabham Cup without Reid last year. He did everything we asked of him, and earned the opportunity to come back here."

As a consistent starter in the junior ranks, Reid was phenomenal with the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL. Over a three-year segment, Reid posted a 85-30-9 in 128 games with a combined 2.34 GAA and .917 save percentage. He played 110 games combined in his last two junior seasons. In 2011 he led the Chiefs to the WHL Conference Finals, starting all 17 playoff games, going 10-4-3 with a 2.58 GAA and a .906 save percentage. He was also named to the WHL Western Conference First All-Star Team.