Ducks extend Nokelainen's contract.
The Ducks have extended center Petteri Nokelaninen's contract one season, through 2011.
The 23-year-old split his third NHL season with Anaheim and Boston in 2008-09, combining for 9 points (4 goals, 5 assists) with a +2 rating and 16 penalty minutes in 50 games. Overall, Nokelainen won 53.4% of his faceoffs (156-for-292) while averaging 11:15 time on ice (TOI) and 15.5 shifts per game. Nokelainen was acquired from Boston in exchange for defenseman Steve Montador on Mar. 4 and went on to appear in nine of Anaheim's 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games, missing four contests with an abdominal strain. He also missed three weeks at midseason with an eye injury sustained as a member of the Bruins.
Originally selected by the New York Islanders in the first round (16th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, Nokelainen has appeared in 122 career NHL games with the Islanders, Bruins and Ducks, collecting 21 points (12 goals, 9 assists) with 39 PIM.
About J.P.
J.P. Hoornstra has been covering the Anaheim Ducks since 2007. Eight months after the University of Wisconsin won its third NCAA hockey championship, he was born in a frigid Madison winter. He betrayed his blue-blooded beginnings by graduating from UCLA in 2003, and welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
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