Blackhawks extend Kero with 2-year contract

The Chicago Blackhawks have rewarded center Tanner Kero with a two-year contract extension which will run through the 2018-19 season, the club announced Thursday.

Financial details are undisclosed.

Kero has made 38 starts since his summoning from Rockford of the American Hockey League in late December. He has provided five goals and 12 points in a bottom-six center-ice role for Joel Quenneville.

The undrafted 24-year-old is among a handful of farmhands to have stepped in to fill holes on the Blackhawks roster this season due to injuries and the club's recurrent salary crunch.