ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Add Three

August 7, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


The Gwinnett Gladiators announced today that they have signed forwards Jordan Fox and Marty Mjelleli as well as defenseman Preston Briggs for the 2008-09 season.

Fox comes to the Gladiators after appearing in 66 games last season with the Flint Generals of the International Hockey League. He finished the 2007-08 season with 26 goals and 34 assists for 60 points with the Generals. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound forward also collected 91 penalty minutes.

The Kirkwood, Missouri native also earned a call up to the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League in January. He collected 2 goals, including a game winning goal and an assist for 3 points while with Albany during his first stint in the AHL.

After spending two seasons at Merrimack College, Fox spent his rookie year during the 2006-07 season with Flint where he ranked first among Generals rookies in scoring with 13 goals and 23 assists for 36 points in 74 games.

A rookie out of St. Cloud State University, Mjelleli joins the Gladiators after completing his senior season last year. In 16 games with the Huskies, Mjelleli notched 2 assists and recorded 6 penalty minutes.

In 69 career collegiate games, the 6-foot-2, 205 pound forward out of Faribault, Minnesota recorded 7 goals and 14 assists for 21 points. He also collected 28 penalty minutes in his collegiate career at St. Cloud State.

Briggs joins the Gladiators this season after appearing in 68 games last season with the Pensacola Ice Pilots. He notched 7 points, all assists, with the Ice Pilots while recording 78 penalty mintues.

The Colorado Springs, Colorado native split time during his rookie season in 2006-07 with the Rocky Mountain Rage and the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League where he notched 2 goals and an assist for 3 points in 28 games.

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound defenseman recorded an assist in 8 games with the Dayton Bombers during the 2005-06 season after completing his senior year at Mercyhurst College. In 136 career collegiate games with Mercyhurst, Briggs notched 5 goals and 28 assists for 33 points while collecting 126 penalty minutes for the Lakers.

Began in 1988-89 with five teams playing in four states, the Premier 'AA' Hockey League has grown into a coast-to-coast league that will have 24 teams in 16 states and British Columbia playing 864 games from Oct. 17, 2008 to Apr. 4, 2009. Nineteen of the 24 teams have played at least five years in their current city.

The third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League, the ECHL averaged 4,174 per game last season, marking the fourth year in row and the 16th time in the last 18 years that the league has averaged over 4,000 fans. The league has drawn over four million fans each of the last five years and 11 times in the past 12 seasons.

The Gwinnett Gladiators open their sixth season as a proud member of the ECHL in October of 2008 - season ticket packages are on sale now. In addition, the Gladiators offer several unique multi-game ticket packages as well as discounted group rates, suite rentals, and birthday parties. For more information call 770-497-5100 or log on to gwinnettgladiators.com.

The Gladiators are the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers and play all home games at the spectacular 11,355-seat Arena at Gwinnett Center, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, where parking is always free.

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