Amerks Sign Veteran Battaglia to PTO

The club has signed veteran forward Bates Battaglia to a 25-game Professional Tryout agreement. Battaglia officially joined the team on Wednesday and made his Amerk debut later that evening against the first-place Hamilton Bulldogs.

Battaglia arrives in Rochester after scoring seven goals and adding 16 assists for 23 points in 46 combined games between Jokerit Helsinki (SM-liiga – Finnish Elite League) and the Syracuse Crunch (American Hockey League) in 2009-10. A native of Chicago Illinois, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound forward brings with him an impressive hockey resume that includes close to 900 professional appearances over the span of his 14-year professional career.

Originally a sixth-round selection (132nd overall) of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, Battaglia has registered 198 points (80+118) in 580 career NHL games with Carolina, Colorado, Washington and Toronto. For his tenure in the American Hockey League, Battaglia has collected 202 points (70+132) in 271 outings with teams in New Haven, Toronto and Syracuse. He posted his best season as a pro during the 2005-06 campaign with the Toronto Marlies, capturing career-highs in assists (47), points (67) and penalty minutes (86) to finish second on the team in overall scoring. In 893 pro career games, the 35-year-old has amassed 418 points (157+261) and 667 penalty minutes, including 37 points (15+22) in 78 postseason contests.