Charlotte Checkers captain Bryan Rodney was 10th among AHL defenseman last season in points (47) and tied for fourth in power-play points (29).

The Syracuse Crunch defense was relatively young and low on offensive-minded players last season, making today’s signing of Rodney a sensible one for the Ducks. The 27-year-old Rodney has appeared in 33 NHL games for the Carolina Hurricanes the past three seasons, scoring all of his 11 points during a 22-game stint in 2009-10.

Lately, Rodney has made a living running AHL power plays with a strong shot. His nine goals last season were a career high, and he scored seven goals and 35 points in 54 games the year before for Albany, then the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate.

The one-year contract pays $525,000 in the NHL and $250,000 in the AHL.

Rodney said in May that he was looking for an opportunity to get more NHL ice time. The Ducks recently acquired Kurtis Foster from Edmonton for Andy Sutton in a move to boost the second power-play unit, but an injury to Foster, Lubomir Visnovsky, Cam Fowler, Luca Sbisa or Francois Beauchemin could give Rodney an opening similar to those he had with the Hurricanes.

Listed at 6-feet and 195 pounds, Rodney went undrafted out of the OHL. He’s had six different minor-league addresses since turning pro in 2005-06, and almost quit at one point.