Avalanche prospects Jamie MacQueen, Ben Wilson assigned to Denver Cutthroats

While the NHL lockout continues to linger, minor league hockey play continues to ramp up, including in Denver, where the Cutthroats of the Central Hockey League begin their inaugural season on Friday and Saturday night against the visiting Missouri Mavericks.

On Tuesday, the Cutthroats announced they have been assigned forwards Jamie MacQueen and Ben Wilson from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters. Both Lake Erie and the Cutthroats are minor league affiliates of the Avalanche. MacQueen and Wilson are scheduled to join the team's training camp this week and be ready for the opener on Friday.

MacQueen played in five games for Lake Erie of the AHL last season after finishing a four-year career at Bemidji State University. He scored 24 goals and added 23 assists in 147 collegiate contests.

This will be Wilson's second tour in the CHL, having played ten games last season with the league's Allen Americans. He also appeared in 30 games for Lake Erie last year. Wilson played two years of his junior career in the Western Hockey League for the Calgary Hitmen.