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Putting together our Christmas wish list

July 2, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies News Release


Greetings again Bullies fans! As we hit the July 4 weekend and celebrate America's birthday, the thermometer down on the Boardwalk is inching towards 90 degrees each and every day. However, we're another week closer to the start of the 2004-05 season, and by the time August hits, the staff will be in high gear getting ready for another exciting year of Bullies hockey. On that note and as a friendly reminder, for those who have yet to renew their season tickets for next year, the clock is ticking a little faster than you may think. It's time for you and your friends to get on board with Operation: 1,700 now! Call your Bullies customer service representative next week at (609) 348-7825 to reserve your seats for the upcoming season. Also, keep sending those emails and questions along to dan.weiss@boardwalkbullies.com. Some terrific questions are coming in every day! Now on to the Bullies…

IT'S OPEN SEASON ON THE MARKET

With all 30 teams submitting their final protected list yesterday of up to 8 players, the ECHL free agent signing period has officially kicked off. The Bullies and Head Coach Matt Thomas ensured that a large core of their 2003-04 roster would return by signing defenseman Marc St. Jean and protecting the remaining 8 players from their end of season roster. It's a pretty talented list of players that includes Luke Curtin, Jon Cullen, Jim Henkel, Preston Mizzi, Brian Fahey, Kirk Furey, Paul Falco, and Bujar Amidovski. With the exception of Curtin who qualifies as a veteran and can test free agency, the Bullies will hold the ECHL rights of each of those players for the entire 2004-05 playing season. As far as St. Jean goes, the 6'2, 220lbs defenseman will return looking to build on last season's rookie numbers of 6 goals and 20 assists. Our first trivia question, the newest feature to this column, focuses on Marc St. Jean and asks in what offensive category did he lead all ECHL players in 2003-04? Answer the trivia question correctly and receive a pair of tickets to a Bullies home game next season. Submit your answers by Thursday, July 8 to dan.weiss@boardwalkbullies.com.

With free agency having officially commenced, Thomas and Bullies Vice President and General Manager Dan Belisle are already putting together their Christmas wish list of potential players they will look to lure to Atlantic City. Some interesting names surfaced of players that were left unprotected by their respective teams. They include Trenton goaltender Chris Houle, who was an ECHL All-Star in 2003-04 and finished with a 7-8-3 record, but an impressive 2.36 goals against average and a .919% save percentage.

Other Northern Division players of interest left unprotected:

Jason Notermann, F (Johnstown)
Lars Pettersen, C (Reading)
Bogdan Rudenko, F (Wheeling)
Tyler MacKay, G (Wheeling)
Jay Langager, F (Johnstown)

AROUND THE ECHL…

The Florida Everblades came within three games of capturing their first Kelly Cup, but the defending Eastern Conference Champions may have quite a different look next season. Last week Florida lost leading scorer and ECHL All-Star Brian McCullough who signed to play in Germany, and yesterday left unprotected key players and fan favorites Reggie Berg, Tom Buckley, Matt Pagnutti, Ryan Brindley, Jay Legault, John McNabb, and Tim O'Connell. On the absence of some notable names from his protected list, Head Coach Gerry Fleming told the Naples Daily News, "Buck and Reg both live here and chances are if they want to come back we can talk and negotiate throughout the offseason," said Fleming, who can count forward Brandon Coalter as his only signed player on the roster. "Other guys, their prices, bottom line, were just too high." Buckley, Florida's all-time leading scorer who was coaxed out of retirement by the organization in mid-February when the Everblades were slumping, told the Daily News on being left unprotected, "I don't think there was any disrespect meant by not qualifying us - they felt they needed to prioritize and qualify some other guys first. I'd like to think they'd want me back. I'm not worried about it right now, but hopefully they'll be in contact with me." Fleming's sentiments echo just about every other head coach and general manager in the hockey industry these days.


TO THE GRAB BAG…
Some more great questions in this week's e-mail bag:

" Dan,
How, if in any way, do you think Matt Thomas' recruiting strategy will differ from Mike Haviland's?

Mark "HUGE BULLIES FAN"
St. Catherine's, Ontario

" Mark,
Well first off you'll be happy to know that Matt is from Mississauga, just right up the road from you! In regards to his recruiting strategy, keep in mind that Matt was a big part of the Bullies recruiting for the two seasons that he worked as an assistant under Mike Haviland. Personally, based on recent success, I think Matt will continue to go after guys with an emphasis on skating and defense, but he may try and add a little bit of grit and toughness to this club. While Kam White played the role of enforcer quite well last season, sometimes the knock on the Bullies around the league was that they lacked toughness. I think this is one area that Matt will look to improve on for the upcoming season.

" Dan,
Have the Bullies thought about doing any kind of video web casting for next season? I love listening to the games on the internet, but I know that there are a handful of teams in the ECHL that currently do it and it's a great way for transplanted fans that live very far away to see their favorite players.

Jim,
Calabasas, CA

" Jim,
Actually, we are exploring a deal that indeed will allow Bullies fans from near and far to watch games on our website. We understand the great demand for Bullies hockey from fans all over the world and not just in Atlantic City, and are trying to accommodate as best as we can. Stay tuned for more information, as we get closer to the season.

AND FINALLY….

Scott Stirling, the reigning ECHL MVP and Goaltender of the Year, has found a new home. Stirling was introduced as a member of the United Hockey League's newest entry, the Danbury Trashers (no joke folks!), at the team's opening press conference this afternoon. There's a little bit of sibling rivalry involved in this one as Stirling will play for his brother, Todd Stirling, who was introduced as the Trashers first ever head coach. Stirling will also see a Gretzky in front of him in Danbury. No, not the Great One #99, but his younger brother Brent Gretzky who will also be a member of the Trashers inaugural season.

Have a happy and safe July 4th weekend! Keep sending those emails and questions along (dan.weiss@boardwalkbullies.com) and I'll be sure to tackle them next week. 112 DAYS TILL OPENING NIGHT!!!!

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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.

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