The Los Angeles Kings have signed free agent forward Corey Elkins to a one-year entry-level contract, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced Tuesday. Elkins, 24, finished with a team-leading 18 goals and 41 points (18-23=41) in 42 games during his recently completed senior season at Ohio State University. The 6-2, 215-pound native of West Bloomfield, Michigan also finished with 18 penalty minutes and he shared the team lead with a plus-24 rating. He led the Buckeyes to a record of 23-15-4 and a berth in the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament (OSU was eliminated from tournament play last weekend). In four seasons with the Buckeyes, Elkins ? a three-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete, two-time Academic All-Big Ten choice and 2007 Coaches Award winner for hard work and determination ? recorded 60 points (27-33=60) and 40 penalty minutes in 102 career games with the Buckeyes.

The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed center MacGregor Sharp to a two-year entry-level contract. Per club policy, no financial terms of the deal were disclosed. Sharp is scheduled to report to the Iowa Chops, Anaheim?s primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL). Sharp, 23 (10/1/85), ranked tied for fourth in the nation in scoring with 26-24=50 points in 43 games with the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) this season. Sharp also finished second in the country in goals, tied for fourth in game-winning goals (4), and tied for ninth in power-play goals (9). Named to the 2009 WCHA All-Tournament team and 2008-09 All-College Hockey News second team, Sharp helped lead the Bulldogs to the 2009 NCAA West Regional final against Miami University (Ohio). During the Bulldogs? 6-1 postseason run, he compiled 6-3=9 points in seven games, including a hat trick in UMD?s 4-0, WCHA Final Five title victory over the University of Denver on Mar. 21. A native of Red Deer, Alberta, Sharp missed only one of 158 games with UMD over the last four seasons. In 157 career games, Sharp scored 50-58=108 points with 19 power-play goals and 109 penalty minutes (PIM), leading the Bulldogs in scoring the past two seasons. Named to the WCHA All-Academic Team in 2006-07 and 2007-08, the 6-1, 195-pound center concluded his UMD career on an 11-game point streak (12-7=19), which included two hat tricks.

Brian Burke, president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Tuesday that the hockey club has signed free agent center Christian Hanson to a two-year entry level contract. ?We are excited to have Christian signed to a contract, and look forward to seeing him play for our organization,? said Burke. ?He is a very intelligent hockey player who has good size and a solid scoring touch around the net.? Hanson, a 23-year-old native of Venetia, Pennsylvania, recently completed his four-year career at the University of Notre Dame. This past season, the 6-4, 228 pound forward played in 37 games for the Fighting Irish registering a career-high 31 points on 16 goals and 15 assists, along with 28 penalty minutes and a plus-10 rating. He was second on the team in goals (tie) and third in points (tie). He also added five game-winning goals and six powerplay goals. In 140 games with Notre Dame over four seasons from 2005 to 2009, Hanson collected 64 points (36 goals, 28 assists) and 123 penalty minutes.

The Anaheim Ducks announced today that they have signed defenseman Mark Mitera to a three-year entry-level contract. Mitera will report directly to the Iowa Chops, Anaheim's primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL). Per club policy, no financial terms of the deal were disclosed. Mitera, 21 (10/22/87), served as team captain in his senior year with the University of Michigan Wolverines this season, scoring 1-2=3 points in eight contests (including five postseason appearances). The 6-3, 213-pound blue liner missed most of the year with a torn ACL in his left knee suffered on Oct. 10 vs. St. Lawrence. Mitera returned to the lineup on Feb. 27 at Ferris State for the final three regular season games. He recorded 1-1=2 points in his second game back from injury on Feb. 28 vs. Ferris State. After finishing second in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) during the regular season, Michigan swept Western Michigan in the CCHA Quarterfinals (6-1, 4-0) and beat Alaska (3-1) in the CCHA Semifinals before falling to Notre Dame (5-2) in the Conference Championship. The Wolverines earned a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament but lost to Air Force, 2-0 in the first round.

The Sharks on Monday signed defenseman Nick Petrecki, the team?s first-round pick in the 2007 draft, as reported by Yahoo.com. Financial terms were not disclosed. The 6-3, 220-pound Petrecki has spent the last two seasons playing at Boston College, winning a national championship in 2008. This season, the Schenectady, New York native recorded seven assists in 35 games while leading the Eagles with 161 penalty minutes.

The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that it has signed University of Minnesota forward Ryan Stoa to an entry-level contract. Colorado?s first selection (second round, 34th overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft, Stoa was named to the 2008-09 All-WCHA First Team after leading the Gophers with 46 points (24g/22a) in 36 games during his junior season. Stoa, Minnesota?s team captain, finished as the WCHA scoring champion with 36 points (19g/17a) in 27 league games. The 21-year-old native of Bloomington, Minn., currently ranks sixth in the nation in points-per-game (1.28) and third in goals-per-game (0.67). ?Ryan brings an element of size, skill and leadership to our organization,? said Avalanche Vice President of Hockey Operations Craig Billington. ?He just completed a solid season at the University of Minnesota and we are excited for him to begin his pro career.? The 6-foot-3, 200-pound forward finished his collegiate career with 97 points (47g/50a) in 120 games. The Avalanche also announced that it has signed free agent forward Cedric McNicoll to an entry-level contract. McNicoll, 20, led the Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL) with 104 points (38g/66a) in 65 regular season games. ?Cedric is a skilled player, a point-producer who plays both ends of the ice,? said Billington.

Brian Burke, president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Friday that the hockey club has signed free agent defenceman Jay Harrison for the balance of the 2008-09 regular season. Harrison is expected to join the Leafs on Saturday. The Maple Leafs also announced Friday that goaltender Justin Pogge has been recalled from the AHL?s Toronto Marlies. Pogge will join the Leafs for their game tonight against the Sabres in Buffalo. Harrison, a 26-year-old native of Oshawa, Ontario, played this past season for Zug of the Swiss Elite League. In 41 games played with Zug, he collected 15 points on six goals and nine assists. He ranked second on the team with 96 penalty minutes. He also played for Canada?s National Men?s Team at the 2008 Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland and helped Canada finish second in the tournament. Harrison was originally Toronto?s fourth choice, selected 82nd overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. The 6?4, 211-pound defenceman played 13 games for the Leafs from 2005 to 2007 and registered one assist with eight penalty minutes. Pogge, 22, has appeared in five games with the Maple Leafs this season, posting a 1-3-1 record with a 3.95 goals against average and a .855 save percentage. In 49 games with the Marlies this season, the 6-3, 204-pound netminder has compiled a record of 23-20-5 with a 2.70 goals against average and a .895 save percentage.

Phoenix Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney announced today that the Coyotes have signed free agent defenseman Jeff May to a multi-year contract. As per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound May has played 21 games for the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League (AHL) this season after also splitting time with Norfolk (AHL), Las Vegas of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) and Providence (AHL). May has collected 1-4-5 and 29 penalty minutes (PIM) in 21 games with the Rampage. Prior to joining San Antonio, May played 11 games with the Providence Bruins (AHL) and three games with the Norfolk Admirals (AHL). He also played 23 games with Las Vegas (ECHL), recording 4-6-10 and 21 PIM. May split the 2007-08 season between the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Prince Albert Raiders (WHL). With Prince Albert, May collected 1-19-20 in 25 games. He finished out the season with Lethbridge and tallied 3-21-24 in 29 games and went on to post 2-7-9 in 19 post-season games for the 2008 WHL Eastern Conference Champion Hurricanes. May posted 119 points (16 goals, 103 assists) and 319 penalty minutes through 281 career games over six seasons with Prince Albert (2002-08). He also contributed two goals and three assists in 25 post-season games for the Raiders (2003-04, 2004-05, 2006-07). May was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the fifth round (151st overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Brian Burke, president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Thursday that the hockey club has signed forward Alex Berry to a two-year entry level contract. Berry will join the Maple Leafs? American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, for the remainder of the 2008-09 season. ?Alex is coming off his best offensive season at UMass,? said Burke. ?He plays a strong, physical game, is very competitive and uses his size to his advantage.? Berry, a 23-year-old native of Danvers, Massachusetts, was selected by the Maple Leafs in the fifth round, 153rd overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-3, 215-pound forward appeared in 37 games with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst Minutemen this season, registering 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points with 83 penalty minutes and a team-high plus 10 rating. Over the course of the season, Berry recorded nine multi-point games. In 124 games with UMass-Amherst over four seasons (2005 to 2009), Berry collected 62 points (29 goals, 33 assists) and 213 penalty minutes.

Prospect Olivier Fortier signed a three-year deal with the Canadiens on Thursday, according to an Associated Press report. Fortier, the captain of the Rimouski Oceanic and top defensive forward of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League last season, was selected 65th overall by Montreal in the 2007 draft.