RELEASE: Blackhawks Acquire Watson

The Chicago Blackhawks announced today that they have acquired forward Spencer Watson from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Matheson Iacopelli. Watson's contract has an AAV of $705,833 and he is signed through the 2018-19 season. He will report to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League.
Watson, 22, has split the season with the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL and the Ontario Reign of the AHL this year. In 47 games with Manchester, Watson has recorded 47 points (22G, 25A). His 47 points pace the Monarchs while his 25 assists share first, and his 22 goals rank second. He's also skated in two games with Ontario this season.

Originally drafted by the Kings in the seventh round (209th overall) of the 2014 National Hockey League Draft, Watson made his professional hockey debut during the 2017-18 season, splitting time between Manchester and Ontario. He tallied 45 points (25G, 20A) in 48 games last season and made seven playoff appearances with the Monarchs, registering three assists. The London, Ontario native also appeared in 11 games with Ontario last season, notching a goal and an assist. Watson has 92 points (47G, 45A) in 95 career ECHL games and one goal and one assist in 13 career AHL tilts.
Iacopelli has split this season between Rockford and the Indy Fuel of the ECHL. In 27 games with the IceHogs, he's tallied two goals and two assists. The forward has four goals in nine contests with Indy. Overall, Iacopelli has recorded 27 points with Rockford (14G, 13A) in 85 games and 14 points (13G, 1A) in 19 games with Indy.