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USHL Des Moines Buccaneers

NHL Veteran Assiting Buccaneers this Week

December 2, 2013 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Des Moines Buccaneers News Release


Urbandale (IA) A glance at a current National Hockey League roster will showcase a number of players from Europe, but when Czechoslovakian born Bobby Holik broke into the league in 1990 that wasn't necessarily the case. Nearly 20 years and over a 1,000 games later, Holik established himself as one of the game's better players while being joined in the league by dozens more from overseas.

This week, the retired NHL center is lending his experience and knowledge to the Des Moines Buccaneers' of the United States Hockey League. Holik will be with the team starting on Tuesday to assist the coaching staff with running drills while also talking with players about their futures and how to achieve their goals. He will remain with the team for the week.

"The purpose of bringing in Bobby Holik is to have him share his experiences with our players both on and off the ice. His plan is to help with face-offs and go over video with us analyzing our team play" says head coach Jon Rogger. "Anytime you can get a player with his playing experiences in the NHL, I think he will share a lot of knowledge both with our team and staff"

Holik was born in Czechoslovakia in 1971 and was taken in the 1989 Entry Draft by the Hartford Whalers. After two seasons, he was traded to the New Jersey Devils where he would spend the next 10 seasons winning a pair of Stanley Cups and being selected to two All-Star Games.

He then played a couple seasons with the New York Rangers and Atlanta Thrashers respectively before ending his career back with New Jersey in 2008-2009. Holik finished with 1,314 games played, 326 goals, 421 assists and 727 total points.

"We are extremely excited to have him join the Buccaneers organization this week" adds Rogger.

Adversity Matched

The Des Moines Buccaneers' ended a four-game losing streak in dramatic fashion last Saturday with a 5-4 shootout win over the Lincoln Stars at home. After seeing Lincoln score four unanswered goals to take a 4-3 lead, the Buccaneers tied the score with two minutes remaining on a short-handed tally by Corey Schueneman.

Des Moines then won the game in the shootout on Patrick Grasso's goal in the fifth round.

"Obviously you never want to see your team lose a three goal lead the way we did. The fact that our team stayed calm and never got down on each other says a lot" notes Rogger. "To this point of the season, this team has been faced with a lot of adversity and this game shows what kind of character we have in our locker room."

The Buccaneers definitely hope the victory is the start of something special and there is reason to believe it could be. Both games this upcoming week are against teams with losing records including a rematch with Lincoln.

Century Mark

Third year forward Tanner Karty played in his 100th career game last Friday at Chicago becoming the ninth Buccaneer to appear in at least 100 games with the team since 2009-2010.

The other players include; Cal Decowski (130), Austin Coldwell (117), Mitch Cain (116), Ethan Prow (115), Gasper Kopitar (107), Patrick Kirtland (106), Luke Voltin (104), Anthony Greco (100).

Streaking

Team captain Danny Elser has stepped up his play in the last week with a goal in three consecutive games. He has increased his season total to five goals. In November, Elser had 6pts (4g, 2a) total.

Teddy Bear Toss Saturday

This upcoming Saturday's home game will feature the annual Teddy Bear Toss promotion! Fans are encouraged to bring a new stuffed animal to the game and following the Buccaneers' first goal, throw the toy onto the ice.

The stuffed animals are collected and donated to various local children's charities in the area.

The Des Moines Buccaneers are in their 34th consecutive season in the United States Hockey League. Since 1980, the Buccaneers have produced hundreds of NCAA Division I players and dozens of professional alumni. Season Ticket Packages and Corporate Partnership information for the 2013-2014 season are available by calling (515) 278-2827.

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United States Hockey League Stories from December 2, 2013


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