Grrrowl qualify six and sign two

July 1, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greenville Grrrowl News Release


GREENVILLE, SC – The Greenville Grrrowl of the ECHL, proud affiliates of the Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers, have announced that Qualifying Offers (in accordance with ECHL guidelines) have been extended to six players, and two more players from last years' squad have agreed to terms. The six players who received qualifying offers prior to the July 1, 2004 deadline are: MICHAEL CHIN (F), COREY HESSLER (D), DEVIN RASK (F), MICHEL ROBINSON (G), DOUG SCHEULLER (D), and JONATHAN ZION (D). The Grrrowl have also signed JASON METCALFE (D), and TROY ILIJOW (F) to ECHL Standard Player Contracts for the 2004-05 season.

MICHAEL CHIN (6-2, 210lbs., forward), MICHEL ROBINSON (6-1, 205lbs., goaltender), and JONATHAN ZION (6-0, 205lbs., defense) were all part the 2003-04 Grrrowl roster. COREY HESSLER (6-1, 205lbs., defense) was received in a three-team trade from Columbia, through Johnstown after this past season. DEVIN RASK (5-9, 175lbs., center) was traded to Greenville from Trenton which completed an earlier deal that sent Scott Kirton to the Titans. DOUG SCHUELLER (6-0, 200lbs., defense) played in 6 games with Greenville after starting the season with Pensacola – Schueller finished the 2003-04 season with the Basingstoke Bison of the EIHL.

ECHL QUALIFYING OFFER GUIDELINES: A Member secures Rights to a Qualified Player when the Member extends to that Player a Qualifying Offer no later than July 1. The Qualifying Offer must remain open for acceptance until August 1. At that time the Qualifying Offer becomes null and void and the Member may sign the Qualified Player to any Salary or may elect to take no further action. Except as provided below in Veteran Free Agency, a Member extending a valid Qualifying Offer to a Qualified Player shall retain the Rights to that Qualified Player for one Playing Season. Players already signed to Standard Players Contracts do not need to receive Qualifying Offers. Players on open Qualifying Offers cannot be traded.

"We have had a very good recruiting period in the off-season," stated John Marks, Grrrowl Head Coach and VP of Hockey Operations. "We are fortunate to have two solid affiliations that are committed to their young prospects and who have a great deal of interest in our teams' development. We had very productive meetings with Chicago and Edmonton during last weeks NHL draft, and feel that the core of players from both organizations will be very solid. The players that have been qualified are all players that we have strong interest in signing for next season, and we will pursue those options in the coming days. Jason and Troy both bring talents to the ice that should help us as we continue to rebuild this team."

JASON METCALFE (6-1, 205lbs., defense) has played in 276 professional games over five seasons, including the final 44 games of last season with the Grrrowl, posting 6 points and 102 PIM. Jason was a 9th round selection of Vancouver in the 1998 NHL entry draft. TROY ILIJOW (6-1, 215lbs., forward) competed in 38 games during his rookie season in Greenville, totaling 12 points (3G, 9A) and 36 PIM. During the 2002-03 season, Troy totaled 48 points (20G, 28A) and 254 penalty minutes while playing 45 games in the junior ranks.

The list of signed players for the 2004-05 season now stands at eight (8), including the earlier announcements of Mark Concannon (F), Mike Nelson (F), Russell Spence (F), Richard Naumann (F), Daryl Pierce (D) and Colin Pepperall (F).

The Grrrowl will open the 2004-05 schedule with a home game on Friday, October 22, 2004 against the Charlotte Checkers. Season tickets (starting at $238), mini-plans and flex packs are available now by contacting the Grrrowl office. Please call 467-4777 for additional ticket information.

### www.grrrowl.com ###

JASON METCALFE Defense;Born Mar 15 1978 -- Streetsville, ONT Height 6.01 -- Weight 203 -- Shoots R Selected by Vancouver Canucks round 9 #232 overall 1998 NHL Entry Draft --- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ---- Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1995-96 Oshawa Generals OHL 63 1 3 4 131 5 0 2 2 19 1996-97 Oshawa Generals OHL 39 4 10 14 91 -- -- -- -- -- 1996-97 London Knights OHL 28 2 10 12 109 -- -- -- -- -- 1997-98 London Knights OHL 66 2 21 23 270 5 0 1 1 8 1998-99 London Knights OHL 46 2 9 11 145 25 1 2 3 45 1999-00 Mobile Mysticks ECHL 13 0 4 4 34 5 0 1 1 6 1999-00 Grand-Rapids Griffins IHL 2 0 0 0 9 -- -- -- -- -- 1999-00 Dalhousie University CIAU 24 6 8 14 94 2000-01 Mobile Mysticks ECHL 41 1 5 6 89 -- -- -- -- -- 2000-01 Florida Everblades ECHL 31 0 2 2 56 5 0 0 0 14 2001-02 Greensboro Generals ECHL 37 1 2 3 106 -- -- -- -- -- 2001-02 Macon Whoopee ECHL 13 0 2 2 33 -- -- -- -- -- 2002-03 Pee-Dee Pride ECHL 66 0 6 6 126 7 0 2 2 8 2003-04 Florence Pride ECHL 8 0 0 0 23 -- -- -- -- -- 2003-04 Texas Wildcatters ECHL 21 0 1 1 47 -- -- -- -- -- 2003-04 Greenville Grrrowl ECHL 44 1 5 6 102 -- -- -- -- --

TROY ILIJOW Right Wing; Born Aug 25 1982 -- Thunder Bay, ONT Height 6.01 -- Weight 212 --- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ---- Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1999-00 Erie Otters OHL 59 5 8 13 45 13 1 4 5 32 2000-01 Erie Otters OHL 37 3 7 10 71 -- -- -- -- -- 2000-01 Sault-Ste.-Marie Greyhoun OHL 30 2 3 5 31 -- -- -- -- -- 2001-02 Sault-Ste.-Marie Greyhoun OHL 66 7 10 17 93 6 0 1 1 8 2002-03 Sault-Ste.-Marie Greyhoun OHL 5 2 0 2 6 -- -- -- -- -- 2002-03 Charlottetown Abbies MJAHL 40 18 28 46 248 2003-04 Greenville Grrrowl ECHL 38 3 9 12 36 -- -- -- -- --

### www.grrrowl.com ###



ECHL Stories from July 1, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central