Sports stats



AHL Norfolk Admirals

Lightning and Admirals Announce Trades

January 15, 2008 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Norfolk Admirals News Release


NORFOLK - Today, Tampa Bay Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manager Jay Feaster announced that the Lightning have acquired right wing Junior Lessard (pronounced "leh-SAHRD") from the Dallas Stars in exchange for defenseman Dan Jancevski (pronounced jan-SEV-skee). In addition, Norfolk Admirals General Manager Claude Loiselle announced today that the Admirals have acquired forward Paul Szczechura (pronounced sha-HER-a) from the Iowa Stars for future considerations. Both Lessard and Szczechura are expected to be in Norfolk in time for tomorrow night's game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

"This wasn't an easy decision," said Loiselle. "We're trading our captain, who is a leader and a great character guy. But we need scoring, especially with Mathieu Darche, Craig MacDonald and Kyle Wanvig up in Tampa. We feel that Junior Lessard has great offensive upside. He is a top-line player at the American Hockey League level and a potential call-up to Tampa. Szczechura is a player that helps us at the center position. He is a right-hand shot that is good offensively but is also responsible in his own end."

Lessard, 27, is a 6-foot-0, 200-pound right wing from St-Joseph-de-Beauce, Québec. He was the fourth-leading scorer with the AHL's Iowa Stars this season. In 36 games with Iowa, Lessard had ten goals and 11 assists for 21 points and 15 penalty minutes. He also had appeared in two games with the NHL's Dallas Stars, going scoreless with two penalty minutes.

The fourth-year pro has appeared in 238 career AHL games between Iowa and the Houston Aeros, scoring 74 goals and adding 79 assists with 102 penalty minutes. He made his AHL and professional debut with the Aeros in 2004-05 and was a teammate of current Admirals leading scorer Kyle Wanvig. He played in the 2005-06 AHL All-Star Classic in Winnipeg, scoring the game-winning goal for the Canadian AHL All-Stars. Last season, Lessard led Iowa in goals (27), points (52) and power play goals (12).

Lessard made his NHL debut in the 2005-06 season with Dallas. In eight career NHL games with Dallas, he has two goals and 14 penalty minutes.

Lessard was signed as a free agent by Dallas on April 15, 2004, after winning the 2004 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the Top Collegiate Player with the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He was also the 2004 WCHA Player of the Year, WCHA First All-Star Team Member, NCAA West First All-American Team Member, and NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team Member. In his senior year, Lessard led the NCAA in goals (32) and points (63). He finished his career at the University of Minnesota-Duluth with 74 goals and 68 assists in 160 games.

Szczechura, 22, is a 5-foot-11, 190-pound forward from Belleville, Ontario. He ranked third among Iowa rookies in scoring this season with five points (2-3-5) in 29 games. He also has 15 penalty minutes.

Szczechura made his professional debut following the conclusion of his collegiate career last season, signing an Amateur Tryout Contract with Iowa last March. In 43 career AHL games, he has five goals and seven assists with 34 penalty minutes. He also appeared in ten Calder Cup Playoff games last season, notching three goals and an assist with eight penalty minutes.

Szczechura appeared in 153 career games with the Western Michigan University Broncos, scoring 44 goals and 86 assists with 107 penalty minutes. In his senior year last season, Szczechura finished first on the Broncos in assists (26), tied for second in goals (19) and was second in points (45). He finished seventh in the CCHA in overall points. He was a two-time recipient of WMU's Scholar Athlete Award.

Jancevski, a 6-foot-3, 218-pound native of Windsor, Ontario, appeared in 37 games with the Admirals as the squad's captain. He led Norfolk defensemen in scoring with four goals and 16 assists with 52 penalty minutes. He also appeared in two games with Tampa Bay this season, going scoreless.

Jancevski is a veteran of 507 American Hockey League games and has recorded 32 goals and 161 points. He also served as captain of the Iowa Stars during their inaugural season in 2005-06, and made his NHL debut with the Dallas Stars on February 4, 2006 against St. Louis. He led all Iowa defensemen in scoring that season with 38 points (9-29-38). Last season, he won the Calder Cup with the Hamilton Bulldogs and was tied for the scoring lead among AHL defensemen with 14 points in the playoffs. In his career, Jancevski has appeared in 40 career Calder Cup Playoff games, recording four goals and 17 points.

Jancevski was originally drafted by the Dallas Stars in the second-round, 66th overall, at the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. The Lightning had signed him as a free agent on July 6, 2007.

The Admirals continue a five-game homestand at Scope this week with three games. The Admirals will entertain Matt Keith and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Wednesday night. On Friday and Saturday, Dennis Bonvie and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will invade Scope. Game time for all Admirals home contests is 7:15 p.m.

Individual tickets may be purchased at the Scope Box Office (during regular business hours), at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (757) 671-8100. Season Tickets, Ten Packs and Group Tickets are available through the Admirals' office. For more information, please contact the Admirals at (757) 640-1212 or visit norfolkadmirals.com.

Check out the Norfolk Admirals Statistics

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from January 15, 2008


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.

Other Recent Norfolk Admirals Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central