Eight Recalled from Phantoms for Black Aces
April 23, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Adirondack Phantoms News Release
The Philadelphia Flyers have announced the recall of eight Phantoms' players, according to general manager Paul Holmgren. The recalled players will join the Philadelphia Flyers as part of the Black Aces practice squad for the team's run during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The list of Phantoms players who have been recalled include:
Brandon Alderson
Mark Alt
Nick Cousins
Yann Danis
Ben Holmstrom
Oliver Lauridsen
Brandon Manning
Petr Straka
They also join Jason Akeson, Cal Heeter and Tye McGinn who were recalled by the Philadelphia Flyers in the closing days of the regular season.
Brandon Alderson, 22, just completed his rookie season of professional hockey. The former Sault Ste.Marie Greyhounds standout scored 14-7-21 for the Phantoms this season and finished the year in impressive fashion scoring six goals in the team's final eight games. On April 13, he recorded his first multi-goal game in a win against the Utica Comets. The free-agent signee of the Flyers organization from Oakville, Ontario was teammates and linemates last season with Nick Cousins in the OHL with Sault Ste. Marie.
Mark Alt
Mark Alt, 22, also just completed his rookie season of professional hockey scoring 4-22-26 in 75 games (out of 76). The 6'3" righty shot from St. Paul, Minnesota also played in six games for the Phantoms at the end of last season following his career at the University of Minnesota. Originally a Round 2 selection of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2010 (#53 overall), Alt was traded to the Flyers' organization in January, 2013 in exchange for Brian Boucher and Luke Pither. Alt is the son of a 13-year professional football veteran; John Alt was an offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1984-96 appearing in the Pro Bowl two times.
Nick Cousins, 20, finished his rookie season with the Phantoms scoring 11-18-29 in 74 games played. The 5'11" center was a Round 3 selection of the Flyers (#68 overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. Cousins had a five-game point streak from April 11 through April 18 (1-6-7) in some of the Phantoms' last games of the year and scored 7-9-16 in a 25-game stretch from February 22 through the end of the season. In 2012-13, Cousins finished second in the Ontario Hockey League in assists (76) and third in points (103) playing for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Yann Danis, 32, completed his ninth pro season and first with the Phantoms. The veteran goaltender went 9-11-4, 3.01, .897 with two shutouts. Due to injury, Danis has not seen game-action since March 21. Danis won the league's "Baz" Bastien Award two seasons ago with Oklahoma City as the top goaltender when he went 26-14-2, 2.07, .924 with Oklahoma City. Danis has played in 53 career NHL games with Edmonton, New Jersey, New York Islanders and Montreal going a combined 17-21-4, 2.75, .910 with three shutouts.
Ben Holmstrom, 27, finished his fourth season for the Phantoms and third as the team's captain. He scored 13-19-32 in 75 games for the Phantoms this season with 146 penalty minutes. The righty-shooting forward from Colorado Springs, Colorado finished as the all-time games leader for the Adirondack Phantoms appearing in 255 contests. He is second all-time in career goals scored with 49 trailing only Jason Akeson who finished with 58. He is also third in assists (73) and second in points (122). Joining the Phantoms as a free agent at the end of the 2009-10 season for 13 games out of UMass-Lowell, Holmstrom is one of only two players (along with Marc-Andre Bourdon) to have appeared in a game for the Adirondack Phantoms for all five of their seasons in Glens Falls. He has also played in seven career games in the NHL, all with the Flyers, scoring no points. His most recent game with Philadelphia was two seasons ago on January 31, 2012 against the Winnipeg Jets.
Oliver Lauridsen
Oliver Lauridsen, 25, is a native of Gentofte, Denmark who was a Round 7 selection of the Flyers from St. Cloud State (Minn.) in 2009. The 6'6" defenseman completed his third full professional season scoring 1-10-11 in 63 games for the Phantoms with 167 penalty minutes. Last year, Lauridsen made the most of a late-season call-up to Philadelphia appearing in 15 games for the Flyers after his NHL debut on March 30, 2013. He scored his first NHL goal on April 23, 2013 against the Boston Bruins and then scored another the following game on April 25 against the New York Islanders. Lauridsen played in 189 career games for the Phantoms rating fifth all-time while scoring 5-19-24 in his career with 359 career penalty minutes which is sixth-most in Adirondack Phantoms' history. Lauridsen played for Denmark along with his younger brother, Markus, in the 2013 IIHF World Championships in Sweden and Finland last May.
Brandon Manning, 23, is a three-year member of the Phantoms who has also played in 10 career games with the Philadelphia Flyers. This season, the 6'1" defenseman from Prince George, British Columbia scored 8-23-31 with 231 penalty minutes. In 184 career games for the Phantoms, the free agent acquisition has scored 20-51-71 with 447 career penalty minutes. Late in the season, he passed Zac Rinaldo for the most career PIM for the Adirondack Phantoms. Manning has been an assistant captain for the past two seasons. Manning scored an overtime winner, the second of his career, in the Phantoms' first game of the year on October 5, 2013 at the Hershey Bears. He registered a two-goal game on December 20, 2013 at the Norfolk Admirals while notching his second career "Gordie Howe Hat Trick" (goal, assist and fight in same game).
Petr Straka
Petr Straka, 21, scored 9-18-27 in 60 games for the Phantoms in his recently completed rookie season. The 6'0" right-wing from Pizen, Czech Republic was originally a Round 2 selection (#55 overall) of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and then signed as a free agent with the Flyers organization last summer. Straka lit it up with Baie-Comeau Drakkar of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2012-13 in his over-age season scoring 41-41-82 in 55 games. Straka's first career professional goal came on November 2, 2013 against the Albany Devils but he didn't have to wait long to score the second goal of his career; he blasted home another one in the same game! Straka played for Czech Republic at the World Juniors Championships in 2011 and the WJC-Under 18 tournament in 2009.
25 Terrific Seasons
Glens Falls celebrated its 25th season hosting an AHL team and in so doing now joins an elite group of just 9 other active markets who can make such a claim. It's a great hockey tradition with an old-school feel that began with the Adirondack Red Wings in 1979. In their 20-year tenure at the Glens Falls Civic Center through 1999, the Red Wings won four Calder Cups. The Adirondack Phantoms began play in Glens Falls in 2009-10 and completed their fifth season bringing exciting AHL action to the North Country.
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