ECHL Charlotte Checkers

Preston and Plume agree to terms as Checkers first players for 2004-05

June 30, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Charlotte Checkers News Release


Charlotte, NC – Wednesday, June 30, 2004: The Charlotte Checkers announce today their first player signings for the 2004-05 season. The announcement is made today by Checkers Head Coach & General Manager Derek Wilkinson. Defensemen Dan Preston and Clay Plume have come to terms with the club and are the first building blocks of the team Wilkinson's is assembling for the coming season.

This fall will mark Preston's third season with the Checkers. The 29 year-old missed most of the 2003-04 campaign after suffering a season-ending injury on November 1. The St. Thomas, Ontario native got off to a fast start last season with a goal and two assists for three points, one game-winning goal and one shootout goal in five games prior to the injury. Preston joined the Checkers in mid-season of 2002-03 and scored three goals and 22 assists for 25 points in 48 games that season. Dan has played in only 131 professional games and is not classified as a "veteran" under ECHL standards.

"Dan's injury last season certainly was a blow to our team," remarked Wilkinson. "He's 100% healthy now and will give the Checkers a strong leader on the blueline and in the locker room. He's a versatile player and we plan to use him this coming season in all situations."

Preston played five seasons of junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League from 1991-1996, including four with the Belleville Bulls and one with the Detroit Whalers. Following his junior career, Preston attended St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick for two years before turning pro in 2000. After his final year at St. Thomas, Dan hooked on with the St. John's Maple Leafs of the American Hockey League for ten games. The following year (2000-01) was spent with the Dayton Bombers of the East Coast Hockey League where he enjoyed an impressive season with 12 goals and 24 assists for 36 points in 68 games, including five assists in eight playoff games. In 2001-02, Preston headed "across the pond" for his first European season with Manchester, joining the Checkers after that team folded in November of 2002.

Plume will come back to the Checkers for his first full season of professional hockey. The 21 year-old defenseman was impressive in his brief eight-game stint at the end of last season. A native American from Standoff, Alberta, Plume played in eight games for Charlotte last season notching two assists. Clay joined the Checkers in March after his junior season with the Prince George Cougars in the Western Hockey League was complete. "Clay showed well under some difficult circumstances in his short stint with us at the end of last season," commented Wilkinson. "He has a great deal of raw ability and I believe he'll be a solid defenseman at this level. Plume played four seasons of junior hockey for Lethbridge and Prince George from 2001-2004 prior to beginning his pro career with the Checkers last March.

In another transaction, the Checkers announce that they have tendered offers to center Dave Inman, center Konrad McKay and defenseman Kengo Ito. Charlotte hopes that the three will accept the offers, and in tendering the qualifying offers, the Checkers will retain the ECHL rights to the trio. Inman played in 24 games last season with the Checkers before signing an American Hockey League contract with the Lowell Lock Monsters. Ito joined the Checkers in mid-November of last season while McKay played a full season with Charlotte. Wilkinson also plans to announce two more player signings before the end of the week.

The Checkers home opener for the 2004-05 season will be held on Saturday, October 30 at 7:00 p.m. at Cricket Arena when Charlotte will host the Columbia Inferno. Season tickets for the upcoming season are now on sale. Fans may call the Checkers office at (704) 342-4423 for complete information.

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