Aeros sign D Traverse, Erskine
September 25, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Houston Aeros News Release
HOUSTON, Texas â The American Hockey League's Houston Aeros have signed defensemen Patrick Traverse and John Erskine, general manager Tom Lynn announced Saturday. Houston also signed goaltender Robert Gherson and right wing Dallas Anderson to AHL contracts, center Pascal Pelletier and right wing Scott Selig to amateur tryouts, right wing David Morisset to a pro tryout, and the Aeros also invited Sheldon Nedjelski, Jeff Neufeld and Chad Woollard to training camp. Forty-one players will don Aeros sweaters Monday beginning at 2:30 p.m. at the Sugar Land Aerodrome to open 2004 Training Camp.
Traverse, 30, enters this season just three games shy of the 600 games played mark. The 6-foot-4, 218-pound native of Montreal has 173 points (44-129) in his pro career, which has seen stops in NHL Ottawa, Anaheim, Boston and Montreal, AHL New Haven, Prince Edward Island, Worcester, Hershey, Quebec and Hamilton and IHL Grand Rapids. Traverse has 65 points (14-51=65) in 278 career NHL games. His best NHL campaign came in 1999-2000 with Ottawa, when he ranked third among defensemen with 23 points (6-17=23) and led the team with a plus-17 rating. Traverse played all 80 games for Hamilton in 2003-04, totaling 26 points (5-21=26).
Erskine, 24, spent most of the 2003-04 campaign in Dallas, totaling one assist and 84 penalty minutes in 32 games. He also played in five games with AHL Utah, with 18 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound native of Kingston, Ont., has 31 points (7-24=31) and 869 penalty minutes in 254 pro games, including four points (2-2=4) and 175 penalty minutes in 81 NHL games, all with Dallas. In his last full AHL season with Utah in 2002-03, Erskine ranked seventh in the league in penalty minutes (274) and was tied for eighth in major penalties (14).
Gherson, 20, played last season for Sarnia and Owen Sound of the Ontario Hockey League, while the 25-year-old Anderson is a toughman who had 73 penalty minutes in just eight games with Flint of the United Hockey League last season. Morisset, 23, is a former second-round pick by St. Louis who missed the entire 2003-04 season due to injury. He played the 2002-03 campaign in San Antonio, totaling six points (3-3=6) in 30 games.
Goaltenders (4) â Robert Gherson, Josh Harding, Kyle Kettles, Mike Smith
Defensemen (11) â Dan Boeser, John Erskine, Maxime Fortunus, Raymond Giroux, Chris Heid, Zbynek Michalek, Sheldon Nedjelski, Todd Reirden, Erik Reitz, Ryan Stokes, Patrick Traverse
Forwards (26) â Dallas Anderson, David Bararuk, Jason Beckett, Derek Boogaard, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Christoph Brandner, Dan Cavanaugh, Marc Cavosie, Mark Cullen, Matt Foy, Marius Holtet, Bill Kinkel, Mikko Koivu, Mike Kompon, Jordan Krestanovich, Kirby Law, Junior Lessard, Dave Morisset, Jeff Neufeld, Pascal Pelletier, Mark Rooneem, Scott Selig, Stephane Veilleux, Rickard Wallin, Kyle Wanvig, Chad Woollard
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American Hockey League Stories from September 25, 2004
- Cincinnati Might Ducks to open 2004-05 training camp on Sept. 29 at Cincinnati Gardens - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Penguins sign 10 players to AHL contracts - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Aeros sign D Traverse, Erskine - Houston Aeros
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