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MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com –HAMILTON, ON – Hamilton Bulldogs General Manager Julien BriseBois announced today that the club has signed defenceman Joel Bouchard to a 25-game Professional Tryout (P.T.O.) contract. Bouchard is scheduled to join the team in Hamilton tomorrow.

Bouchard, 33, most recently attended the Columbus Blue Jackets’ training camp before being released in September 2007. The 6-foot-1, 209-pound blueliner missed the majority of the 2006-2007 campaign due to injury, appearing in only four games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the American Hockey League and registering three assists.

The native of Montreal, Quebec, has appeared in 364 career National Hockey League games with the Calgary Flames (1994-1998), Nashville Predators (1998-2000), Dallas Stars (1999-2000), Phoenix Coyotes (2000-2001), New Jersey Devils (2001-2002), New York Rangers (2002-2003, 2003-2004), Pittsburgh Penguins (2002-2003), and New York Islanders (2005-2006), recording 22 goals, 53 assists, 75 points, and 264 penalty minutes.

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com – Bouchard has also suited up in 273-career AHL games with the former Saint John Flames (1993-1996, 1997-1998), Albany River Rats (2001-2002), Hartford Wolf Pack (2002-2003, 2004-2005), and Bridgeport Sound Tigers (2005-2007), posting 137 points (36-101-137) with 239 penalty minutes. For his efforts, Bouchard represented the Saint John Flames in back-to-back AHL All-Star games in 1995 (Providence) and 1996 (Hershey).

Bouchard was originally selected by the Calgary Flames in the 6^th round, 129^th overall, in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft.