St. Louis, Peoria Prospects Report to Alaska
Published on September 30, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Alaska Aces News Release
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The St. Louis Blues have assigned NHL-contracted defenseman Alexander Hellstrom and forward Tomas Kana to Alaska. The Aces also have been assigned AHL two-way contracted goaltender Sebastian Dahm.
Kana played in all 21 postseason contests as Alaska marched all the way to Game 7 of the Kelly Cup Finals before losing 4-2 at home to South Carolina with the ECHL championship on the line. Still only 21, the Czech Republic native scored in an 8-2 rout of Victoria in Game 2 of the West Division Finals and assisted on two other goals in the playoff run.
Kana racked up 20 points (6g-14a) in 30 regular season games for the Aces, who went 22-6-2 with him in the lineup, 23-18-1 without him. He led the team with a +14 rating while enjoying a three-point night in an 8-4 win over Utah November 16 and a two-goal game in a 7-1 pummeling of Phoenix March 15. Selected 31st overall by St. Louis in the second round of the 2006 NHL Draft, Kana also played 18 games for Peoria (AHL) last year and 12 with Alaska in 2007-08.
The 22-year-old Hellstrom, who also was drafted by St. Louis in 2006 (7th round, 184th overall), has played all but nine of his 84 games in North America for Peoria, but did not appear in the Rivermen's opening round playoff loss to Houston last season. He had an assist and finished +4 in his first ECHL game at Bakersfield January 23, a 5-2 Alaska victory.
Dahm comes off an impressive rookie campaign, most of which was spent in the AHL with Syracuse, for whom he compiled a 10-11 record with a 2.66 goals against average and a .914 save percentage. He did play five games in the ECHL for Johnstown, posting a 3-2 record (4.99 GAA, .844 save pct.). The 22-year-old Dahm hails from Copenhagen, Denmark, but has played in North America since turning 18, including Ontario Hockey League stints in Belleville, Sarnia, Sudbury, and Niagara, for whom he went 20-6 with a 2.53 GAA and a .917 save percentage at the tail end of the 2007-08 season.
Forwards Jack Combs, Chris Morehouse, and Patrick Brosnihan also will report to Alaska after having been released from training camp try-outs with Peoria. The 21-year-old Combs racked up 175 points (74g-101a) in his last two years of junior hockey in the OHL alone while playing for the Saginaw Spirit, including a 42-goal, 100-point campaign in 2007-08. Morehouse, 22, scored 31 goals and assisted on 28 others over two seasons with Moncton (2006-07 & 2007-08) in the QMJHL. Selected in the seventh round (#212 overall) by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2005, the 6-4, 220-pound Brosnihan enrolled at Yale later that fall and registered 18 points (12g-6a) in 98 games with the Bulldogs.
Training camp opens with Friday (2-4pm) and Saturday (3-5pm) practices at Ben Boeke Arena. Admission to training camp is free and open to the public. A complete training camp schedule will be released tomorrow.
The Aces welcome Victoria to Anchorage for the regular season opener on October 16 at 7:15 p.m., with two more games to follow on the 17th and 19th, also at 7:15 p.m. The third annual "Paint the Rink Pink" pre-season games at Sullivan Arena will be played against Kalamazoo next Wednesday and Thursday at 7:15 p.m. A portion of the proceeds from those games will be donated to Breast Cancer Focus, Inc., and the American Cancer Society in Alaska.
ECHL Stories from September 30, 2009
- Grizzlies Training Camp Opens Sunday - Utah Grizzlies
- All-Star Kenny MacAulay, Jesse Dudas Agree to Terms - Stockton Thunder
- St. Louis, Peoria Prospects Report to Alaska - Alaska Aces
- Ducks reassign nine players to Bakersfield - Bakersfield Condors
- Kalamazoo's 36th Season of Professional Hockey Begins Friday - Kalamazoo Wings
- Chiefs Announce Training Camp Schedule - Johnstown Chiefs
- Gladiators Open Training Camp October 1st - Atlanta Gladiators
- Trio assigned to Idaho by Stars organization - Idaho Steelheads
- Wranglers to Feature Human Nature Opening Night - Las Vegas Wranglers
- Albany Assigns Five to Camp, Blades Invite Four to Tryout - Florida Everblades
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