Flames Claim Mikkelson From Ducks

  The Calgary Flames have claimed defenseman Brendan Mikkelson off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks, and subsequently assigned T.J. Brodie to the American Hockey League.

  For Mikkelson, he is now headed to a team that is in no better shape than the team he came from as both Anaheim and Calgary have struggled early in this season. From Calgary’s vantage point, the no-loss acquisition is a good one for the club.

  To date this year, Mikkelson has appeared in 5 games notching 1 assists with a -1 rating and 7 penalty minutes. He will get third-pairing duties with the Flames in an effort to stick in the NHL through an entire year.

  Mikkelson is a dependable blueliner with good size at 6’3 205lbs, and is a very smooth skater. The 23 year-old Regina, Sask. Native was drafted just outside of the first round (31st overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Anaheim Ducks. Mikkelson does not have much of an offensive upside, but rather is pegged for a stay-at-home shut-down type of defender.

  He spent last season split between the Toronto Marlies AHL club (49 games) and Anaheim Ducks (28 games). For the Ducks, Mikkelson only notched 2 assists with a -5 rating and 14 PIMs.

  He has played a total of 67 NHL games for the Ducks recording 5 assists, a -6 rating, and 38 penalty minutes. He has plyed for three different clubs in the American Hockey League for a total of 146 games with a 15-33-48 scoring record and abysmal -34 rating with 111PIMs.

  His pro numbers haven’t been eye-catching at all, but the promise could still be there for the young blueliner. Through his four years in the WHL he notched 16 goals and 54 assists for 70 points and a -1 rating in 226 games. Mikkelson was a member of the Canadian Gold Medal Team at the 2003-04 Under-18 World Juniors Hockey Championship, and in 2006-07 was a Memorial Cup Champion as well as being named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team.

- Kendall Grubbs