Sports stats

River Rats Call Up Two From Florida

November 19, 2007 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Albany River Rats News Release


ALBANY, NY - The Albany River Rats announced today that they have called up left wing Derek Damon and defenseman J.D. Forrest from the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.

Forrest, 26, attended the Carolina Hurricane's training camp and also appeared in both pre-season games for the River Rats before being assigned to Florida on October 16th. He has played 12 games for the Everblades this year, recording 8 points (1 goal, 7 assists) and 6 penalty minutes. The Auburn, New York native was drafted by Carolina in the sixth round of the 2000 NHL Entry Draft and was a member of the Boston College team that won the 2001 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey National Championship at the Pepsi Arena in Albany. At the conclusion of his Boston College career, Forrest played his first two seasons professionally in Finland before signing with the Hurricanes as a free agent on July 20, 2006. Forrest is looking to make his AHL debut with the River Rats after missing all of the 2006-07 season with a knee injury suffered while playing for in a preseason game for Albany in 2006.

Damon, 27, also comes to the Capital District looking to make his River Rats debut after leading the Florida Everblades in scoring with 20 points (9 goals, 11 assists) in the team's first 13 games; he is currently in a three-way tie for the ECHL lead in points. The Bangor, Maine native doubled his point total this past week, recording 10 points (6 goals, 4 assists) in Florida's four games, making him a strong candidate for the InGlasCo/ECHL Player of the Week award. Damon played four years of Division I college hockey for the University of Maine Black Bears of Hockey East, scoring 111 points (51 goals, 60 assists) in 159 career games. He helped Maine reach the NCAA Frozen Four twice during his college career; losing in the National Championship game to the University of Denver in 2004 and dropping their semifinal game with the University of Wisconsin, the eventual champions, in 2006. Damon is reunited with River Rats Head Coach Tom Rowe, who recruited him to join the Lowell Lock Monsters after Maine was eliminated by Wisconsin during his senior season. He made his AHL and professional hockey debut on April 14, 2006 at Manchester playing for Lowell; he has played 3 career AHL games with no points.

The River Rats have a week of practice scheduled through the Thanksgiving holiday leading up a trip to Massachusetts on Friday, November 23rd, to face their old affiliation the Lowell Devils at 7:05 pm. Albany's next home game comes on Saturday, November 24th against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers; a special 5:00 pm Saturday face off at the Times Union Center.

Partial season tickets and flex ticket packages for the 2007-08 River Rats season are on sale now. For more information please contact the Albany River Rats at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyriverrats.com.



American Hockey League Stories from November 19, 2007


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 Albany River Rats Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central