L.A. Kings Announce First Round of Assignments to Manchester
September 23, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
EL SEGUNDO, CA. â Training camp is well underway out in Los Angeles and now it's time for the parent club to start sending some players to the Monarchs. The first round of assignments was made today and with that announcement, the return of several familiar faces to Manchester is set.
Included in the first round of players assigned to Manchester are inaugural Monarchs captain Dane Jackson, Monarchs leading scorer Eric Healey, tough defenseman Joe Rullier, center Chris Schmidt, and Jerred Smithson, who scored the first ever goal in Monarchs history.
Also assigned to the Monarchs were center Jim Henkel (R.P.I.), defensemen Jason Crain (Ohio State) and Jimmy Verdule (St. Francis Xavier University), and netminder Alexei Volkov. Henkel, a 23-year-old native of Red Bank, N.J., was drafted by the Kings in the 1998 Entry Draft (eight round, 217th overall). In four years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the 6-foot-2-inch, 180-pound Henkel notched 22 goals and 43 assists in 123 games for 65 points. He also accumulated 108 penalty minutes.
Crain, 22, played four seasons at Ohio State University where he registered 12 goals and 34 assists for 46 points. The 6-foot-3-inch, 190 pound, Pittsburg, PA, native also notched 134 penalty minutes. Crain was drafted 74th overall in the 1999 Entry Draft by the Kings.
Verdule, a 24-year-old native of Montreal, Quebec, played the past three seasons for St. Francis Xavier University. While there he registered 16 goals, 36 assists, and 148 penalty minutes in 77 games.
Volkov, a 22-year old native of Yekateringburg, Russia, played 1711 minutes in 29 games for the Ufa hockey club, earning a 2.71 goals against average. He played in five contests for the Lowell Lock Monsters in 2000-01. Two players have also been reassigned to their junior teams. They are right wing Petr Kanko (Kitchener Rangers -- OHL) and defenseman Aaron Rome (Swift Current Broncos â WHL.) The Kings have 42 players remaining on their 2002 preseason roster (24 forwards, 13 defensemen and five goaltenders). The Manchester Monarchs start their training camp on September 26 when players report for medicals. They will take to the ice in the morning on Friday, September 27 at the Verizon Wireless Arena.
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American Hockey League Stories from September 23, 2002
- Mighty Ducks Assigned 14 Players by Anaheim - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- L.A. Kings Announce First Round of Assignments to Manchester - Manchester Monarchs
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- Five more players sent to Moose Training Camp - Manitoba Moose
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- Falcons add preseason game - Springfield Falcons
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- Admirals Camp Starts Tomorrow - Norfolk Admirals
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