Blackhawks assign Beach to Rockford

The Blackhawks have assigned left wing Kyle Beach, the team's first choice, 11th overall, in the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft, to the American Hockey League's Rockford IceHogs.

Beach, 20, led the Western Hockey League with 52 goals and tied for 11th with 86 points, both career highs, in 68 regular-season games with the Spokane Chiefs during his fifth junior campaign.

The Vancouver, British Columbia, native ranked fifth in the WHL with a career-most 186 penalty minutes and finished fourth on the Chiefs with a career-best 34 assists and +22 plus/minus rating. He also paced Spokane with seven goals and shared first with nine points in seven postseason tilts.

During the regular season, Beach posted four hat tricks and netted two or more goals in a game 14 times, which includes a three-game stretch from February 13 to 17 when he collected eight markers. He collected multiple points in 27 of his 68 matchups, including two four-point outings.

Beach made his professional debut last season with the Ice Hogs after signing an amateur tryout contact with the Blackhawks affiliate on April 9, 2009. He posted 15 penalty minutes in two regular-season matchups while also appearing in one postseason contest.