The Blackhawks made a couple roster moves on Thursday.
Defenseman Ethan Del Mastro has been recalled from the Rockford IceHogs. To make room for Del Mastro on the NHL roster, the Blackhawks placed veteran forward Craig Smith on IR (retroactive to Jan. 8).
Del Mastro, who turned 22 on Jan. 15, appeared in two games with the Blackhawks last year. He has eight assists in 38 games with Rockford this season and represented the IceHogs in the AHL All-Star Game last season.
What makes this move interesting is the Blackhawks already have a logjam on the left side of their blue line with Wyatt Kaiser and Nolan Allan recently sharing the press box assignment.
The Blackhawks also signed forward prospect AJ Spellacy to his entry-level contract on Thursday morning.