ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has acquired goaltender Jani Hurme from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for center Joel Stepp.

Hurme, 31 (1/7/75), has split this season between the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Columbia Inferno of the ECHL. With Chicago he played in six games, posting a 2-4-0 record with a 3.64 goals against average (GAA) and a .854 save percentage (SV%). For Columbia, Hurme had a record of 6-7-2 with a 3.49 GAA and a .903 SV%.

The Turku, Finland native has played in 76 career NHL games with Ottawa and Florida, posting a record of 29-25-11 with a 2.61 goals against average (GAA). Hurme was also a member of Team Finland at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah where he posted a record of 1-2 in three games with a 3.01 GAA.

Ottawa’s second choice (third round, 58th overall) of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Hurme will immediately report to the Portland Pirates (AHL), Anaheim’s primary development affiliate.

Stepp, 23 (2/11/83), has split the season between Portland and the Augusta Lynx of the ECHL. With Portland, he played 17 games, collecting 2-1=3 points and 21 penalty minutes. In 38 games with Augusta, Stepp scored 13-26=39 points and 26 PIM. He was drafted by Anaheim in the third round (66th overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.