BLOOMINGTON - High-scoring forward Craig Macdonald has signed a contract with the Bloomington PrairieThunder for the upcoming International Hockey League season.

The addition of Macdonald to the team's preseason roster was announced Thursday by Coach Jarrod Skalde along with the signings of Central Illinois products Logan Bittle of Peoria and Cole Ruwe of Pekin.

Macdonald, a 27-year-old native of Milton, Ontario, scored a career-high 71 points in 64 games last season with the New Mexico Scorpions. He had 35 goals and 36 assists, along with 66 minutes in penalties.

"Craig has progressively gotten better throughout his career," said Skalde of the 6-foot, 200-pound Macdonald, who has set personal highs for goals scored and points scored in each of his first five seasons in the professional ranks.

"We will definitely be looking for Craig to provide offense to our team. With the people we have in place, this could be a breakout year for Craig,'' Skalde said. "He also fits the mold for what we are trying to accomplish here in that he is a quality person and a quality leader."

Macdonald began his career with the Elmira Jackals of the UHL in 2004-05. He spent two seasons with the Jackals before playing the last three years with New Mexico of the CHL.

During his five-year pro career, Macdonald has scored 200 points on 96 goals and 104 assists in 258 games with 456 penalty minutes. In three seasons with the Scorpions, he scored 180 points on 88 goals and 92 assists.

Ruwe and Bittle both played a handful of games at the professional level last year, but are still considered rookies.

The 25-year-old Bittle played 11 games with the Dayton Bombers of the ECHL, collecting two assists. The 6-1, 200-pound Bittle played at Robert Morris University.

The 24-year-old Ruwe, who stands 6-2 and weighs 205 pounds, saw action in six games with the Wichita Thunder of the CHL last season and scored one goal.

The three signings bring the PrairieThunder roster to 10.