Toporowski One Game Away from 1,000, Set to Reach Milestone Tomorrow Night

Published on February 11, 2013 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Quad City Mallards News Release


MOLINE, Ill. (February 11, 2013) - Quad City Mallards forward Shayne Toporowski is set to play his one thousandth career game when the Mallards meet the Bloomington Blaze tomorrow night at 7:05 p.m. at the i wireless Center.

Toporowski, 37, has played 999 regular season games over the course an 18-year career than has seen him play for 16 teams - including the National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs- in nine leagues on two continents. He is in his first season with the Mallards, for whom he has scored five goals and totaled 17 points in 41 games. Over the course of his career, the Paddockwood, Saskatchewan, native has scored 260 goals, notched 354 assists, recorded 614 points and piled up 2,196 penalty minutes.

Shayne Toporowski is the younger brother of legendary former Mallards defenseman Kerry Toporowski, who won a pair of championships while playing five-plus seasons in the Quad Cities between 1997 and 2004.

Last season, the 6' 2", 216-pound Toporowski scored eight times and totaled 16 points in 32 games with VSV EC in Austria. Before making the move to Austria last year, Toporowski spent the previous eight seasons in Finland. In all, he skated in the Finnish SM-liiga for a total of nine years- he first competed in Finland in 2000-01- during which time he scored 135 goals and recorded 320 points in 464 games. He has also played in Britain, Germany and Sweden. Before this season, he last skated in North America in 1999-2000.

Toporowski spent the bulk of his first five years as a pro in the American Hockey League, where he took the ice for the St. John's Maple Leafs, Worcester IceCats and Springfield Falcons. In all, he played 372 games, scored 85 goals and produced 206 points in the AHL. He last played in North America in 1997-98 when he scored 27 goals and totaled 55 points in 80 games with Springfield.

Toporowski played three games for the Maple Leafs during the 1996-97 season. He was originally selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft with the forty-third overall pick.

Tickets for tomorrow night's tilt- as well as seats for all remaining Mallards regular season home games- can also be purchased in person at the i wireless Center ticket office, at Ticketmaster outlets, through www.ticketmaster.com or through Ticketmaster charge-by-phone toll free at 1-800-745-3000. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on game days from 10:00 a.m. until the start of the second period.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Central Hockey League Stories from February 11, 2013


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.

OurSports Central