Pirates Roster Shuffled

December 16, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Portland Pirates News Release


PORTLAND, ME - The Portland Pirates announced today that the Washington Capitals, their National Hockey League affiliate, acquired defenseman Josef Boumedienne from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for defenseman Dean Melanson. Capitals' vice president and general manager George Mcphee made the announcement. Boumedienne will report to the Pirates.

Boumedienne, 24, is tied for first among Binghamton Senators skaters with 17 points (2-15-17) and has accumulated a team-high 62 penalty minutes in 26 games for Ottawa's American Hockey League affiliate. Boumedienne (pronounced BOO-meh-DEE-uhn) has one goal and six penalty minutes in four career NHL games with New Jersey and Tampa Bay. He scored his lone NHL goal in his first NHL game when Washington downed the Devils 6-1 on opening night, Oct. 6, 2001, at the MCI Center.

The Stockholm, Sweden, native was drafted by New Jersey in the fourth round, 91st overall, in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. On November 9, 2001, the Devils traded Boumedienne to Tampa Bay along with Sascha Goc and Anton But for Andrei Zyuzin. Ottawa sent a seventh-round pick in the 2002 Entry Draft (213th overall - Fredrik Norrena) to Tampa Bay for Boumedienne on June 23, 2002, and the 6' 1", 200-pound blueliner began the season with Binghamton.

Melanson had been with the Pirates since the end of the 2000-01 season when he was traded from the Philadelphia Phantoms for center Matt Herr. In 106 career games with the Pirates, he had four goals, 26 points and 194 penalty minutes. The native of Antigonish, Nova Scotia had served as the Pirates' captain from the beginning of the 2001-02 season to November 2002.

In other roster news, the Pirates acquired left wing Jeff Williams off of waivers from the Hershey Bears. Williams began the season in Europe before returning to North America to play for the Quad City Mallards of the United Hockey League. In six games with the Mallards, Williams had two goals and three assists for five points and was plus-four. He also had two penalty minutes. The native of Pointe Clair, Quebec last played in the AHL in 2000-01 when he skated in 76 games for the Syracuse Crunch, scoring 22 goals and 49 points. Williams led the AHL in goals in 1998-99 when he scored 46 for the Albany River Rats in 74 games. He was originally the New Jersey Devils' 7th round pick, 181st overall, in the 1994 Entry Draft.

The Pirates play three games on the road prior to a three-day Christmas break. The Pirates will visit the AHL's best team, the Hamilton Bulldogs on Friday, December 20th. They'll play their first game ever against Binghamton on Saturday night at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena at 7:05 p.m. They'll finish the grueling three-in-three stretch on Sunday when they visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 5:05 p.m. All three games will be carried live on portlandpirates.com and the Pirates' Radio Network.



American Hockey League Stories from December 16, 2002


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