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Chiefs receive 14 players from Springfield

October 3, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


Johnstown, PA (October 2, 2006) - The Springfield Falcons have assigned 14 players to the Johnstown Chiefs.

Forwards Maxime Boisclair, David Desharnais, Jean Desrochers, Brandon Elliott, Ryan Gibbons, Gus Katsuras, Stanislav Lascek, Randy Rowe, and Radek Smolenak, defensemen John Adams, P.J. Atherton, and Doug Andress, and goaltenders Morgan Cey and Gerald Coleman will join the Chiefs for training camp, beginning next weekend at the Cambria County War Memorial.

Entering his first professional season, Boisclair recorded consecutive 100-point seasons with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, scoring 108 points (51g, 57a) in 2004-05 and ranking second on the team with 130 points (70g, 60a) in 2005-06. Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Boisclair attended training camp with Springfield.

With 118 points (33g, 85a) last season, Desharnais ranked third in scoring on the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, 12 points behind Maxime Boisclair. The 5-7, 177-pound Desharnais begins his professional career with the Chiefs after scoring 78 goals and 178 assists in 201 career games with Chicoutimi.

Selected in the 5th round (133rd overall) by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Lascek led Chicoutimi of the QMJHL in scoring, posting 135 points (47g, 88a) in 64 games. In 176 regular season games with the Sagueneens, Lascek, a native of Martin, Slovakia, scored 82 goals and 200 assists and ranked third on the team in scoring in both the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons.

Desrochers appeared in 72 regular season games with the Chiefs in 2005-06. The Dalhousie, Quebec native scored 19 goals and 23 assists for a total of 43 points, and contributed two goals in five Kelly Cup Playoff games. Now entering his third professional season, Desrochers has scored 38 goals and 57 assists in 144 regular season games with Johnstown, and has one assist in three AHL games with Bridgeport.

In 68 games with the Chiefs in 2005-06, Elliott scored 10 goals and added seven assists while accumulating a team-leading total of 207 penalty minutes. A native of Orangeville, Ontario, Elliott began his professional career in the 2004-05 season, recording seven penalty minutes in two games with Springfield and two assists and 41 penalty minutes in 13 games with the ECHL's Victoria Salmon Kings.

Selected in the 6th round (178th Overall) by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Gibbons played five seasons in the Western Hockey League for the Seattle Thunderbirds, recording 51 goals and 38 assists in 291 regular season games.

Katsuras led NCAA Division III Hamilton College in Clinton, New York in scoring during the 2005-06 season, posting 18 goals and 20 assists in 26 games. Katsuras, a native of Toronto, scored 144 points in 102 career games with Hamilton and had two 20-goal seasons, scoring 20 goals as a freshman in 2002-03 and 22 goals as a junior in 2004-05.

A native of Burford, Ontario, Rowe appeared in 45 regular season games with the Chiefs in 2005-06, finishing second on the team with 28 goals and adding 15 assists for a total of 43 points. He also played in three games with the AHL's Springfield Falcons, recording two penalty minutes. In five Kelly Cup Playoff games with Johnstown, Rowe scored four points (2g, 2a). Entering his sixth professional season, the 5-11, 180-pound Rowe has scored 246 points (121g, 125a) in 293 career ECHL regular season games with Peoria and Johnstown, and three goals and two assists in 14 Kelly Cup Playoff games. In 20 AHL games with St. John's and Springfield, the 26 year-old Rowe has scored four goals and three assists.

A native of Prague, Czech Republic, Smolenak played for the Kingston Frontenacs the past two seasons. Selected in the 3rd round (73rd overall) by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Smolenak recorded 74 goals and 70 assists in 132 career games with Kingston.

Selected in the third round (82nd overall) by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Adams recently signed an AHL contract with the Springfield Falcons. The Wayzata, Minnesota native appeared in 42 regular season games and two Kelly Cup Playoff games with Florida in 2005-06, scoring 15 points (1g, 14a). In five games with Springfield last season, Adams recorded six penalty minutes. The 6-2, 193-pound Adams also appeared in five games with the Grand Rapids Griffins and three games with the Cleveland Barons.

Atherton began his professional career in 2005-06, appearing in nine games and recording a goal and three assists with Springfield after completing his collegiate career at the University of Minnesota. In 106 games with the Golden Gophers, the Edina, Minnesota native scored five goals and 12 assists while helping Minnesota win the NCAA Championship in 2003.

Andress appeared in 64 regular season games with the Chiefs in 2005-06, scoring 37 points (6g, 31a) and earning one assist in five Kelly Cup Playoff games. The Iroquois Falls, Ontario native also appeared in one game with the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights of the AHL, and in three games with the Springfield Falcons, the Chiefs' AHL affiliate, Andress registered his first career AHL goal. The 6-2, 210-pound Andress has appeared in 133 ECHL regular season games with Johnstown, South Carolina, and Toledo, scoring 56 points (11g, 45a), and has one assist and eight penalty minutes in nine Kelly Cup Playoff games with Johnstown and Toledo.

An alumnus of the University of Notre Dame, Cey appeared in 35 games in his rookie season with Johnstown, recording a 17-9-7 record with a goals-against average of 2.75 and a .922 save percentage. In two games with Springfield, the Wilkie, Sask.-native allowed four goals in 100 minutes of playing time, earning a win, a 2.40 goals-against average, and a .927 save percentage.

Coleman appeared in 43 games with Springfield during the 2005-06 season, posting a 14-21-3 record and earning a 3.88 goals-against average. The 21 year-old native of Romeoville, Ill., made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning on November 20, 2005 in a 5-2 loss at Atlanta. He was later recalled and played the final 23:16 for Tampa Bay at Florida on March 20, 2006 when the Lightning lost 6-5 in overtime to the Panthers.

The Johnstown Chiefs, "AA" affiliate of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning, begin their 19th season as a member of the ECHL on October 21, 2006 at the Cambria County War Memorial in downtown Johnstown against the Pensacola Ice Pilots. . Season tickets are currently on sale and may be purchased by calling (814) 539-1799 or 1 (800) SLAPSHOT. Single game tickets are currently on sale through Ticketmaster and the Cambria County War Memorial Box Office.



ECHL Stories from October 3, 2006


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