Brian Burke, president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Tuesday that the hockey club has signed restricted free agent forward Christian Hanson to a one-year contract.
Hanson, a 24-year-old native of Venetia, Pennsylvania, completed his first full season of professional hockey in 2009-10. He appeared in 32 games for the Maple Leafs and recorded two goals and seven assists with 16 penalty minutes. In the season finale, he earned two goals and an assist at Montreal on April 10. With the Marlies this past season, Hanson also had 12 goals and 19 assists in 38 American Hockey League (AHL) games. He was named to the PlanetUSA AHL All-Star Team and he collected an assist at the 2010 AHL All-Star Classic. At the conclusion of the season, he played in six games for the United States at the World Championships in Germany.
Hanson completed a four-year career at the University of Notre Dame in 2009. During his final season, Hanson played in 37 games for the Fighting Irish registering a career-high 31 points on 16 goals and 15 assists, along with 28 penalty minutes and a plus-10 rating.
In 140 games with Notre Dame over four seasons from 2005 to 2009, Hanson collected 64 points (36 goals, 28 assists) and 123 penalty minutes.
