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Wolf Pack Ink Four to AHL Contracts

October 4, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release


Hartford, October 4, 2006: Hartford Wolf Pack general manager/head coach Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Wolf Pack have signed defensemen Dale Purinton and Ryan Constant, and forwards Francis Lessard and Mark Lee, to American Hockey League contracts. In accordance with team policy, terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

Purinton, entering his tenth season of pro hockey, skated in 25 games with the Wolf Pack last year. The 29-year-old contributed three goals and added three assists for six points, and registered 109 penalty minutes. Since being drafted by the parent New York Rangers in the fifth round (117th overall) in 1995, Purinton has spent his entire professional career with the Ranger organization. In 181 NHL games with New York, the 6-2, 225-pound Fort Wayne, IN native has tallied four goals and 16 assists for 20 points, to go along with 578 penalty minutes. In 160 career AHL contests with the Wolf Pack, Purinton has chipped in eight goals and added 11 assists for 19 points, and is the franchise's all-time leader in penalty minutes, with exactly 1,000.

Lessard, a 27-year-old seventh-year pro, played the last three seasons of his career in the Atlanta Thrashers organization. Last year, he suited up for six games with the Thrashers (no points or penalty minutes) and logged 36 games of action with Atlanta's AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Lessard's AHL totals included two goals and three assists for five points, along with 161 PIM. A 6-3, 224-pound native of Montreal, Lessard has played in a total of 91 NHL games, all with Atlanta, in his career, registering one goal and three assists for four points, plus 268 penalty minutes. In addition to parts of three seasons with the Wolves, he has also seen AHL action with the Philadelphia Phantoms. Lessard was originally drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round (80th overall) in 1997.

Lee, 22, is in his third year of pro action and got his first taste of the AHL last season, when he skated in 27 games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Mount Pearl, Newfoundland native netted one goal in those 27 tilts and spent 10 minutes in the penalty box. Lee also appeared in 36 ECHL games with the Trenton Titans in 2005-06, registering six goals and 19 assists for 25 points, along with 30 penalty minutes. The 5-11, 184-pounder spent most of his first pro season in the UHL, after playing one season in the QMJHL with the Prince Edward Island Rocket.

Constant comes to the Wolf Pack from the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, in which he played last season with the OCN (Opaskwayak Cree Nation) Blizzard. In 57 games of action, the 21-year-old, 5-11, 200-pound blueliner scored 13 goals and posted 45 assists for 58 points, while totaling 253 penalty minutes.

The Wolf Pack drop the puck on their tenth-anniversary 2006-07 season this Saturday night, October 7th at the Hartford Civic Center against the Springfield Falcons (7:00 face-off) in the premiere DATTCO 1-91 Challenge. The night will feature a pre-game block party on Hartford's Trumbull Street (5:00 - 7:00 PM), and guests of honor will be the Wolf Pack's first head coach, E.J. McGuire, and fan favorite P.J. Stock. Also, all fans will receive a free magnetic season schedule, sponsored by The Hartford, and the first 5,000 fans will receive a special 10th Anniversary commemorative ticket giveaway, sponsored by Verizon Wireless. The night will feature a pre-game ceremony highlighted by a retrospective game-opening video and a laser and pyrotechnics show.



American Hockey League Stories from October 4, 2006


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