Friday, May 28, 2010

Ducks Sign Rockets' McMillan to Three-Year Contract

Press Release

Anaheim, CA - The Ducks have signed left wing Brandon McMillan to a three-year entry-level contract. Per club policy, no terms of the deal were disclosed.

McMillan, 20 (3/22/90), appeared in 55 contests in his fourth season with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2009-10, scoring 25-42=67 points with 63 penalty minutes (PIM) and a +11 rating. Ranking tied for second on the club in goals and third in points and assists, McMillan set career highs in all three categories. He scored a career-high four goals in the final contest of the regular season on Mar. 13 vs. Prince George. The 5-11, 185-pound winger led the Rockets in postseason scoring, collecting 5-10=15 points in 12 games. He scored the game-winning goal on Apr. 3 in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semifinals at Tri-City. In addition, McMillan appeared for Team Canada at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship in Regina and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, scoring 4-4=8 points in six contests en route to the silver medal.

A native of Richmond, British Columbia, McMillan registered 14-35=49 points in 70 contests with Kelowna in 2008-09. He finished fifth on the club in assists and sixth in points and registered a career-high five-point night (3-2=5) on Nov. 21 at Prince George. In addition, McMillan helped the Rockets to a WHL Championship in the postseason. Advancing to the Memorial Cup final, the club eventually fell to Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), four-games-to-one (4-1).

Selected by Anaheim in the third round (85th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, McMillan earned 56-113=169 points in 251 career WHL games. He played in a career-high 71 regular season contests in 2007-08 (missed only one contest), scoring 15-26=41 points. His international hockey resume also includes representing the gold-medal winning Team Canada at the 2008 IIHF Under-18 World Championship in Russia, scoring 1-2=3 points in the tournament. Additionally, McMillan represented Team B.C. at the 2007 Canada Winter Games.

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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