Wolves Sign Nardella
March 17, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Chicago Wolves News Release
The Chicago Wolves have signed defenseman and Melrose Park native Bob Nardella.
Nardella, who has played in seven of the Wolves¹ nine previous seasons, paced the Rockford IceHogs with 38 assists and ranked second on the team with 45 points in 44 United Hockey League games this season.
The 5-foot-8-inch, 170-pound blueliner registered a goal and nine assists in 15 games with Chicago last year. After being released by Chicago on Jan. 28, the 35-year-old blueliner joined the Milan Vipers, helping them win the Italian Elite League Championship with eight assists and nine points in 11 games. Nardella began last season with the Quad City Mallards, recording two goals, one assist and three points in just two UHL games.
A member of both the Wolves' 1998 and 2000 Turner Cup Championship teams, as well as Chicago's 2002 Calder Cup Championship squad, Nardella led all defensemen in the 2000 playoffs with 13 points, including 11 assists. Following the season, International Hockey League head coaches named Nardella to the league's Second All-Star Team, his first postseason All-Star selection.
Nardella also led American Hockey League defensemen and tied for 11th in the AHL overall with 14 points in the 2002 playoffs. He paced AHL blueliners with a career-best five goals, nine assists and three power-play goals in 24 postseason games with the league champion Wolves. During the regular season, Nardella ranked first among Wolves defensemen with eight goals, 18 assists and 26 points in 52 games that year.
The former Ferris State University Bulldog has accumulated 58 goals and 281 points in 443 games with the Wolves, including a North American career-best 53 points (8G, 45A) in 1998-99. He ranks second all-time in goals by a defenseman in a single season with 13 in 1997-98.
A 12-year pro, Nardella has played six seasons in Europe, winning Italian League Championships with Alta Badia (1991-92), Alleghe (1992-93) and Milan (2002-03), along with a German Ice Hockey League title with Mannheim (1996-97). In 1998, Nardella briefly left the Wolves to represent the Italian Hockey Team at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
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