AHL Manchester Monarchs

Kings Assign O'Sullivan, Tukonen, Zeiler To Manchester

April 9, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release


MANCHESTER, NH - The Los Angeles Kings, the parent club of the Manchester Monarchs, have assigned forwards Patrick O'Sullivan, Lauri Tukonen and John Zeiler to the Monarchs, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced today. In addition, the Monarchs have recalled goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji and defenseman Bryan Schmidt from the ECHL's Reading Royals, Monarchs Director of Hockey Operations Hubie McDonough announce today. Monarchs goaltender Jason LaBarbera is out of the lineup (week-to-week) with a lower body injury.

O'Sullivan, 22, had 19 points (4-15=19), two power play goals and 14 penalty minutes in 44 games with the Kings this season. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, recorded a seven-game assist and point streak (2-8=10 during the streak) from March 11-23, which was the longest scoring streak for any King this season. O'Sullivan, who collected his first Kings/NHL goal versus Minnesota on October 18, was most recently recalled by the Kings on January 25.

He also played in 38 games with the Monarchs this season and has 34 points (17-17=34), a plus-9 rating and 10 penalty minutes. At the time of his most recent recall, he was leading the Monarchs with those 17 goals. The Kings acquired O'Sullivan and a first-round choice (Trevor Lewis) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft from Minnesota for Pavol Demitra on June 24, 2006.

Tukonen, 20, played in four games with the Kings this season and had zero points and zero penalty minutes. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound native of Hyvinkaa, Finland, who was most recently recalled by the Kings on April 2, was originally selected by the Kings in the first-round (11th overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He also has 30 points (13-17=30), five power play goals and 26 penalty minutes in 57 games with the Monarchs this season.

Zeiler, 24, has played in 23 games with the Kings this season and has three points (1-2=3) and 22 penalty minutes. The 6-foot, 196-pound native of Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, made his NHL debut on February 17 at Anaheim and scored his first Kings/NHL goal on his first shot versus Vancouver on February 22. Originally selected by Phoenix in the fifth-round (132nd overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Zeiler signed a one-year contract with the Kings on February 17. He has played in 52 games with the Monarchs this season and ranked fifth on the team at the time of his recall with 27 points (11-16=27), second with seven power play goals, led the club with a plus-16 rating and had 68 penalty minutes.

Fukufuji, 24, has appeared in three games for the Monarchs this season collecting a record of 2-0-0, a 1.30 goals-against-average and a .954 save-percentage. The 6-foot-1, 186-pound native of Kushiro, Japan, became the first Japanese-born player to play in the NHL when he made his debut with the Kings against the St. Louis Blues on January 13, 2007. In parts of four games with the Kings, Fukufuji collected a record of 0-3-0, a goals-against-average of 4.38 and a save-percentage of .837. He also played in 28 games with the Royals this season coming away with a 13-10-1 record, a goals-against-average of 2.96 and a .905 save-percentage.

Schmidt, 25, has appeared in 54 games with the Monarchs this season collecting 17 points (5-12=17) and 39 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-3, 209-pound native of Bloomington, Minnesota, has played in six games with the Royals this season and recorded three points (2-1=3) and six penalty minutes. Schmidt signed a one-year contract with the Monarchs on September 25, 2006, after graduating from Merrimack College.

The Monarchs hit the road for a 7:05 p.m. contest with the Portland Pirates at the Cumberland County Civic Center on Tuesday, April 10. Catch all of the play-by-play action of Monarchs hockey with Ken Cail on the Monarchs Radio Network WGIR-AM 610 and at www.monarchshockey.com. Watch the game live on B2 Networks for just $6 per game. Log onto www.monarchshockey.com and click on the link to B2 Networks ten minutes prior to each Monarchs game to watch the game live!



American Hockey League Stories from April 9, 2007


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