Training Camp Roster Announced, Six More Assigned From Springfield

Published on October 6, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. ¨C The Stockton Thunder, the proud ECHL affiliate of

the National Hockey League¡¯s Edmonton Oilers and American Hockey

League¡¯s Springfield Falcons, announced 2008-09 training camp has

opened with 19 skaters and four goaltenders, including the following six

players assigned to the Thunder from Springfield:

¡ñ Jordan Bendfeld (D)

¡ñ Ryan Constant (D)

¡ñ Ryan Huddy (C)

¡ñ Garet Hunt (LW)

¡ñ Bryan Pitton (G)

¡ñ Les Reaney (C)

Additionally, it was announced goaltender Daniel Roy has been signed to

a training camp tryout agreement.

Bendfeld, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound defenseman who was selected by the

Oilers in the seventh round (193rd overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft,

is slated to make his professional debut in a Thunder uniform after

skating in 225 career junior games for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the

Western Hockey League, amassing 392 penalty minutes and 67 points

(17g-50a).

The 20-year old helped guide the Tigers to a WHL championship and

Memorial Cup appearance in 2006-07, scoring a career-high 30 points

(9g-21a) in 72 games.

Constant, 23, is entering his third pro season after signing an AHL

contract with Springfield in the summer of 2008. The 5-foot-11,

200-pound blueliner has skated in 136 career games with the Charlotte

Checkers (ECHL) and Hartford WolfPack (AHL), amassing 161 penalty

minutes and 45 points (6g-39a). Last season, the native of Opaskwayak

Cree Nation, Manitoba split 66 games between Charlotte and Hartford,

tallying 80 penalty minutes and 19 points (4g-15a).

Constant played three years (2003-06) of his junior career with the

Ontario Cree National Blizzard of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League,

drawing 482 penalty minutes and scoring 101 points (23g-78a) in 153

career games.

Huddy, 25, spent 2006-08 in the German Oberliga League with Peiting and

Hannover, scoring 119 points (52g-67a) in 96 games. Last season, the

native of Stony Plain, Alberta ranked third on Hannover with 25 goals

and scored 60 points (25g-35a) in 48 games.

The 5-foot-9, 180-pound center scored 90 points (28g-62a) in 139 career

college games with Bemidji State University (NCAA). Ryan¡¯s father,

Charlie, coached in the ECHL in 1996-97 (Huntington Blizzard), currently

serves as an Assistant Coach for the Edmonton Oilers and was a

defenseman for 17 years (1981-97) in the NHL which included five Stanley

Cup championship teams with the Oilers.

Hunt, 20, was signed by Springfield to an AHL contract in the summer of

2008 and is scheduled to make his pro debut in a Thunder uniform after

spending his four-year (2004-08) junior career with the Vancouver Giants

of the Western Hockey League, amassing 542 penalty minutes and 41 points

(16g-25a) in 193 career games.

Last season, Hunt skated in 62 games for the Giants, leading the team

and ranking fourth in the WHL with a career-high 239 penalty minutes

while totaling 18 points (7g-11a).

Pitton, 20, was selected in the fifth round (133rd overall) of the 2006

NHL Entry Draft by the Oilers and spent the preseason in Oilers training

camp after a three-year junior career with the Brampton Battalion of the

Ontario Hockey League. The 6-foot-2, 176-pound goaltender was 64-46-6 in

124 career games with Brampton, posting four career shutouts, a 3.22

goals-against-average and a .894 save percentage.

Last year, Pitton appeared in one AHL game last season with Springfield

on a tryout basis and had a 22-13-2 record, .911 save percentage and a

GAA of 2.54 with the Battalion which ranked sixth in the OHL.

Reaney, 24, tallied one assist in five games last year for the Thunder

and was previously signed an AHL contract with Springfield in February

2008. The native of Ceylon, Saskatchewan spent three years (2005-08) of

his college hockey career at Niagara University (NCAA), scoring 99

points (34g-65a) with 191 penalty minutes in 97 career games for the

Purple Eagles.

2008-09 STOCKTON THUNDER TRAINING CAMP ROSTER

The Thunder training camp roster has opened at 23 players, including

returning left wing Mike Lalonde, who is the Thunder career leader with

51 goals and defenseman Mark Adamek, the Thunder career leader with 131

games played. Two forwards ¨C Cory Urquhart (2003, Montreal Canadiens)

and Marc-Andre Bernier (2003, Vancouver Canucks) ¨C have been selected

in the second round of the NHL Entry Draft.

Additionally, seven defensemen (Adamek, Cody Blanshan, Neil Petruic,

Nathan Saunders, Cleve Kinley and Milan Maslonka) are measured at six

feet or taller while 15 Thunder players are currently signed to an NHL

or AHL contract through the Edmonton Oilers.

# GOALTENDERS (4) POS HT WT GLOVE HOMETOWN BIRTHDATE 2007-08 CLUB GP MIN GA SO AVG

BORON, Tim G 6-0 177 L Winnipeg, Manitoba 5/22/1983 STOCKTON 31 1787 94 3 3.16

PERUGINI, Andrew G 5-11 175 L King City, Ontario 7/12/1988 Barrie (OHL) 27 1578 85 2 3.23

Sarnia (OHL) 25 1466 72 0 2.95

PITTON, Bryan G 6-2 176 L Mississauga, Ontario 1/26/1988 Brampton (OHL) 34 2153 91 4 2.54

Springfield (AHL) 1 12 1 0 4.88

ROY, Danny (T) G 6-3 160 L Santa Rosa, Calif. 4/5/1987 N/A 0 0 0 0 0

# SKATERS (19) POS HT WT SHOOT HOMETOWN BIRTHDATE 2007-08 CLUB GP G A PTS PIM

ADAMEK, Mark D 6-3 210 R Hollister, Calif. 5/2/1982 STOCKTON 68 3 9 12 41

BATES, James RW 6-3 195 R Toronto, Ontario 1/21/1985 Quinnipiac (NCAA) 34 11 23 34 10

Norfolk (AHL) 5 0 1 1 9

BENDFELD, Jordan D 6-3 230 R Leduc, Alberta 2/9/1988 Medicine Hat (WHL) 72 6 19 25 160

BERNIER, Marc-Andre RW 6-3 218 R Laval, Quebec 2/5/1985 Victoria 59 21 27 48 32

BLANSHAN, Cody D 6-1 220 L Eagan, Minn. 2/14/1984 Mississippi (CHL) 63 2 18 20 118

CHWEDORUK, Justin RW 5-9 170 R St. Albert, Alberta 7/14/1984 Springfield (AHL) 3 1 0 1 2

Wheeling 47 10 9 19 72

Bakersfield 19 7 4 11 37

CONSTANT, Ryan D 5-11 200 L Opaskwayak Cree Ntn, Manitoba 5/1/1985 Charlotte 54 3 15 18 76

Hartford (AHL) 12 1 0 1 4

HUDDY, Ryan C 5-9 180 L Stony Plain, Alberta 8/28/1983 Hannover (Germany) 48 25 35 60 0

HUNT, Garet LW 5-8 190 L Maple Ridge, British Columbia 10/14/1987 Vancouver (WHL) 62 7 11 18 239

KINLEY, Cleve D 6-0 190 R Surrey, British Columbia 1/13/1984 Texas 60 6 28 34 63

Grand Rapids (AHL) 10 0 2 2 2

LAFRANCE, Toby C 5-9 189 R Granby, Quebec 6/17/1987 Victoriaville (QMJHL) 68 41 48 89 45

Texas 2 2 0 2 0

LALONDE, Mike LW 5-10 190 L Chetwynd, British Columbia 12/1/1980 Tilburg (Netherlands) 34 43 49 92 35

LYNES, Luke LW 6-1 189 L Ellicott City, Md. 11/28/1987 Brampton (OHL) 68 21 43 64 49

STOCKTON 2 0 0 0 0

MASLONKA, Milan D 6-7 240 L Zvolen, Slovakia 11/1/1986 Albany (AHL) 1 0 0 0 2

Youngstown (CHL) 56 3 4 7 298

PETRUIC, Neil D 6-1 200 L Regina, Saskatchewan 7/30/1982 Bolzano (Italy) 32 1 10 11 62

REANEY, Les C 6-2 221 L Ceylon, Saskatchewan 7/8/1984 Niagara (NCAA) 25 5 10 15 48

STOCKTON 5 0 1 1 0

SAUNDERS, Nathan D 6-3 228 R Charlottetown, P.E.I. 4/25/1985 Johnstown 31 1 5 6 79

Providence (AHL) 13 1 0 1 21

URQUHART, Cory C 6-3 203 L Halifax, Nova Scotia 10/1/1984 Cincinnati 21 14 9 23 22

Hamilton (AHL) 21 5 4 9 14

Arizona (CHL) 16 20 13 33 6

ZANOSKI, Tom LW 5-11 185 L Brampton, Ontario 3/3/1984 Dalhousie (CIS) 14 3 7 10 33

STOCKTON 42 12 8 20 98

PRESIDENT: Dan Chapman KEY: NHL Affiliate: Edmonton Oilers

HEAD COACH: Chris Cichocki (30-IR) Denotes 30-day injured reserve AHL Affiliate: Springfield Falcons

ASSISTANT COACH: Tim O'Connell (7-IR) Denotes 7-day injured reserve

DIRECTOR OF SCOUTING: Blair Nicholson (3-IR) Denotes 3-day injured reserve

HEAD ATHLETIC TRAINER: Kevin Anderson (T) In training camp on a tryout basis

EQUIPMENT MANAGER: Mark Burgess

DIRECTOR OF MEDIA RELATIONS/BROADCASTING: Mike Benton

PRONUNCIATION GUIDE CAPTAINCY

ADAMEK, Mark Adam-ECK KINLEY, Cleve KIHN-lee, KLEEV To be announced

BERNIER, Marc-Andre bern-YAY, Mark awn-DRAY LaFRANCE, Toby La-FRAHNTZ, TOH-bee

BORON, Tim Bir-AWN LALONDE, Mike La-LAHND

CHWEDORUK, Justin chew-DOR-uk MASLONKA, Milan Mas-LAWN-kah, MEE-lan

CICHOCKI, Chris Cha-HOCKEY PETRUIC, Neil Peh-TROO-ick

CONSTANT, Ryan KAWN-stant URQUHART, Cory URK-hart, CORR-ee

HUDDY, Ryan HUH-dee SAUNDERS, Nathan SAWN-ders

HUNT, Garet GAIR-et ZANOSKI, Tom Zah-NAW-skee

The Thunder is scheduled to host ¡°FanFest¡± tonight at 5:30 p.m.

from Stockton Arena, free to the general public. The preseason schedule

launches on Thursday, Oct. 9 when the Thunder faces the Fresno Falcons,

starting at 7:00 p.m. from Stockton Arena. Stockton and Fresno will meet

10 times during the 2008-09 regular season, beginning with ¡°Opening

Night¡± on Saturday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Stockton Arena.

The Thunder was voted ¡°Best Local Sports Team¡± by readers of San

Joaquin Magazine, has led the ECHL in attendance for three consecutive

seasons and drew 239,337 fans to Stockton Arena in 2007-08. Season

tickets and mini plans are on sale now. For more information about

tickets, merchandise, or other inquiries contact the Stockton Thunder

offices at (209) 373-1500 or visit www.StocktonThunder.com.

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