Fury sign right wing Rustyn Dolyny
Published on July 9, 2004 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release
MUSKEGON, MI.--- The summer months of Colonial Cup III continue to abound with plenty of off-ice action for the United Hockey League reigning champions, the Muskegon Fury. Captors of the coveted crown twice in the past three years and thrice in the last five calendar years, the Fury management's posture has been one that is bent on and committed to another story of glory for the next new season. Yet another step toward that end was realized with the signing of another integral team member who has been paramount to the franchise considerable success.
Today, the Fury Team Owner and Club President Tony Lisman, in concert with Director of Hockey Operations / Head Coach Todd Nelson, have announced that standout right wing RUSTYN DOLYNY has agreed to terms and inked a new pact for the 2004-05 UHL season. Adhering to club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
DOLYNY, 27, is set to embark on his fourth pro season with all of them clad in the armor of the champions in Muskegon where he has emerged prominently as one of the truly top-notch, touch-in-the-clutch performers for the Fury as well as the UHL. Through his initial three pro years, he has embodied the class, citizenship and leadership that have spawned a pair of team titles in 2001-02 and again, in 2003-04.
In the year of Colonial Cup III in 2003-04, the strong and stellar 6-1, 198lb right-hand shooting forward was superb, finishing sixth overall in Fury team scoring with 50-points in 66-games on 22-goals, 28-assists as one of the Musk-egonites UHL league-best seven 20-goal sharp-shooters. Included in his regular season output were 5-PPG, 3-GWG and a supreme +14 rating which also ranked as sixth best for the coronated club. Moreover, his 6-FG and 2-SHG tied him for Fury team leadership in those two important categories. The diligent, dynamic Dolyny culminated the campaign's regular phase by being recognized for his tireless, team-oriented efforts and overall superb performance in capturing the Fury's annual "Mr. Hustle" Award.
In Muskegon's remarkable, undefeated 11(11-0) surge to the circuit's summit in the post-season playoffs, the Fort Frances, Ontario native was extraordinary as he registered 4-goals, 5-total points in 9-games with two of those strikes stoked as critical game-winning goals, including the lone goal in pivotal game #3 of the Colonial Cup Finals in Elmira and 1-0 Fury triumph.
The Dolyny official signing was a top agenda item for Coach Nelson as he acknowledges how important his star right wing is for the Fury to attain more future success. "Our off-season efforts are all pointed toward keeping our top, core players together from the title team. We are continuing that process with the return of Rustyn Dolyny. He is a true leader for us both on and off the ice; leadership qualities that he brought to us from his days as team captain at Michigan State. He possesses great grit and determination which combined with his goal-scoring ability makes him such a valuable asset to our organization." Nelson further elaborated regarding the many qualities that are the make-up of Dolyny. "Rustyn plays a major role for us in all key, critical situations. He is an excellent penalty-killer, injects scoring depth on our power play and is a very solid defensive player. He has been here for two Fury champ-ionships which should not be too surprising since he has earned the reputation of really stepping it up for the play-offs by scoring some real key goals. However, even more important, has been his overall professional approach and attitude toward our game, our team and our community. Rustyn is a model of conduct both on and off the ice."
"Rusto Bravissimo" has achieved a rich list of accolades and plaudits thus far in his Fury career. As a rookie in the year of Colonial Cup II in 2002, he was named the Fury team Rookie of the Year as well as being named to the UHL All-Rookie Team. His 30-goals that season tied for second most among all UHL first-year pros and also ranked as second most for the Fury. In addition, his 55-points ranked as fifth best in the rookie class while his 6-GWG led all UHL rookies and tied for the Fury team leadership. Dolyny also achieved a masterful +21 rating which ranked as fourth best among the league's first-year performers. When the Fury celebrated the crown of the "Cup" that year, the former Michigan State captain was the UHL's top scoring rookie with 17(4-7-11), also pacing the league in goals and assists.
Before his procurement by Muskegon, Dolyny was a four-year standout at Michigan State where he captained and was team scoring kingpin in his senior year of 2000-01, actually finishing a lofty 10th in CCHA conference scoring with 42(13-26-39).
He was acclaimed winner of MSU hockey's Bill Burgess Award as Outstanding Senior and ranked in the top three in Spartans' scoring in all four of his seasons in competition there. In 1999-00, he led "State" and ranked 5th in the nation with 12-PPG and second in power play points with 23. In the 1998-99 season, his 4-SHG led the CCHA while his 44(20-24-44) led all CCHA freshmen in point-production.
As far as his Fury pro career is concerned, Dolyny has climbed to 14th on the club's all-time scoring list with totals of 197(69-87-156) with 196-PIM and 10-GWG. He ranks 12th in goals, 9th in GWG and is just three games away from becoming only the 14th player under the Fury employ to reach 200-career games.
His career playoff numbers for the Fury read: 30(10-9-19) with 10-PIM.
For his four-year career at MSU his output stands at 168(69-84-153) with 181-PIM; 36-PPG; 6-SHG; 17-GWG and an excellent +50 rating.
Today's signing of right wing RUSTYN DOLYNY brings to five the number of players signed by the Fury for the 2004-05 season. Previously, the Fury announced the signings of defenseman TYLER PALMER; center BILLY COLLINS; right wings ROBIN BOUCHARD, SCOTT HOLLIS.
International Hockey League 2 Stories from July 9, 2004
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- Former Adirondack Red Wing Re-signs with Frostbite - Adirondack Frostbite
- Fury sign right wing Rustyn Dolyny - Muskegon Lumberjacks
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