Blackhawks sign defenseman Dylan Anhorn to one-year contract

A young blueliner has inked his first NHL contract.

On the opening day of NHL free agency, the Chicago Blackhawks signed defenseman Dylan Anhorn to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will have an NHL cap hit of $850,000, with a minor-league salary of $200,000.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the signing.

Anhorn has worked his way to an NHL deal. After a rather successful collegiate career, he joined the Manitoba Moose, the Winnipeg Jets‘ American Hockey League affiliate, late in the 2023-24 season. He has spent the past two seasons with the team on AHL contracts, and has been a solid two-way blueliner for the team.

This past year, Anhorn scored three goals and 14 assists for 17 points, a new career high, in 46 games. He also posted a plus/minus of +4, helping the Moose finish fourth in the Central Division, qualifying for the Calder Cup Playoffs for the second time in three seasons. Manitoba was able to get by the Milwaukee Admirals in the best-of-three first round, but fell to the top-seeded Grand Rapids Griffins in the division semifinals, bowing out in four games. Anhorn posted a goal and two assists in the seven games.

The 27-year-old is most likely going to join the Blackhawks’ AHL club, the Rockford IceHogs, next fall, but will be a wanted player for a team that just missed the postseason.

In 95 regular-season games in the AHL, Anhorn has registered six goals and 28 assists for 34 points.

Prior to turning pro, Anhorn was quietly one of the better two-way defenders in the NCAA. After playing two years at Union College, the Calgary native transferred to St. Cloud State. In his two seasons with the Huskies, he reached 25 points, including a career-high 33 points in his senior season, in which he served as team captain.