Indy receives reinforcements from Rockford

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indy Fuel, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and the AHL's Rockford IceHogs, announced a series of roster moves Friday ahead of the club's three-game weekend at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The Blackhawks have assigned forward Spencer Watson from the IceHogs to the Fuel, while the IceHogs have reassigned defenseman Josh McArdle to Indy. Finally, defenseman Dmitry Osipov has been released from his professional tryout agreement with the IceHogs, and will return to Indianapolis. The Fuel have also announced that forward Craig Puffer and defenseman Braden Hellems have been released from their ECHL contracts.

Watson, 22, returns to the ECHL where he racked up 47 points (22g, 25a) in 47 games to start the season with the Manchester Monarchs. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound forward was acquired by the Blackhawks from the Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 25 in exchange for Matheson Iacopelli, tallying one goal and two assists in 10 games with the IceHogs following the trade.

A native of London, Ontario, Watson has seen action in 95 ECHL games with the Monarchs since joining the professional ranks last season, collecting 47 goals, 45 assists while posting a +25 rating. The seventh round pick of the Kings in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft (No. 209 Overall) played parts of five seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, scoring a total of 147 goals and 154 assists in 274 games with the Kingston Frontenacs and the Mississauga Steelheads.

McArdle, 24, has skated in 27 games for the Fuel this season, logging one goal and four assists. The defenseman has spent much of 2019 with the IceHogs, where he has three points and six penalty minutes in 19 games. A native of Roscoe, Ill., McArdle looks to make his return to the Indy lineup for the first time since Feb. 19, when he chipped in an assist against Wichita before being recalled to Rockford.

Osipov, 22, was loaned to Rockford on March 16, appearing in four games with the IceHogs. The defender from Moskva, Russia made his AHL season debut on March 17 against Texas before picking up an assist on Feb. 23 in a Rockford loss to Milwaukee. With the Fuel, Osipov has appeared in 62 games in 2018-19, recording one goal and 12 assists.

Single-game tickets are now on sale for the Fuel's 5th anniversary season at Indiana Farmers Coliseum! Lock up your seat for every second of the action at Indiana Farmers Coliseum with a Fuel Ticket Plan - grab yours by heading to IndyFuelHockey.com or by calling the Fuel front office at 317-925-FUEL. Don't forget to follow the Fuel on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat (IndyFuel) for news, updates, contests and much more throughout the 2018-19 season.

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