Canucks sign defenceman Ben Hutton to two-year contract extension worth US$5.6M

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks have signed defenceman Ben Hutton to a two-year contract extension worth US$5.6 million, the club announced Thursday.

The 23-year-old from Prescott, Ont., is in his second NHL season with Vancouver and has two goals and two assists in 20 games so far in 2016-17.

Selected 147th overall at the 2012 draft, Hutton was one of the lone bright spots for the Canucks in his rookie campaign, seemingly coming out of nowhere to make the club out of training camp.

The six-foot-two 207-pound University of Maine product had one goal and added 24 assists in 75 games in 2015-16 to lead all Vancouver defencemen in scoring.

Hutton has struggled at times early this season while looking for chemistry with partner Erik Gudbranson, but has played better of late for the Canucks (8-10-2), who have won four of their last seven following an ugly nine-game losing streak.

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“Ben is developing into one of our young, emerging core players and is an important part of our future,” Canucks general manager Jim Benning said in a statement. “We’re excited to see him further elevate his game and help this team compete for years to come.”

The Canadian Press