"The Avalanche on Wednesday signed an entry-level contract with college forward Brad Malone, the player whose on-ice hit broke the neck of Denver's Jesse Martin in a game last season.

Malone will report to the minor-league affiliate Lake Erie Monsters, the Avs said, for the beginning of the American Hockey League playoffs.

The 21-year-old Malone finished his senior season at North Dakota, helping them to the NCAA Frozen Four. His 40 points (16 goals and 24 assists) ranked fourth on the team. He led the Sioux with 108 penalty minutes in 43 games.

Malone was a fourth-round pick of Colorado's in the 2007 NHL draft.

"Brad just finished a strong four-year college career and we look forward to him beginning his pro career with Lake Erie," Avs general manager Greg Sherman said in a release.

In a game on Oct. 30, Martin took an open-ice check from Malone in a game at Grand Forks, N.D. The hit caused a concussion, multiple neck fractures and trauma to Martin's spinal cord."