The Odessa Jackalopes issued a couple of press releases today, one announcing a schedule change and the other announcing two players from last year’s rosters signing two-way contracts with the Jacks’ AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. I always love hearing about CHL players getting a shot in the AHL and beyond. And, as competitive as the league has become, it’s happening more and more often. Great news for the Jacks and the CHL in general. Both press releases are below.
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(Odessa, TX) – The Odessa Jackalopes announced today that two players from last season’s roster, Jean Bourbeau (ZHON bor-BOH) and Juha Toivonen (YOO-hah TOY-voh-nin), have signed two-way contracts with the Jackalopes’ AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
Bourbeau and Toivonen will report to training camp with Bridgeport on Tuesday, along with Jacks forward Mike Lesperance (LES-per-ahns) and defenseman Garrett Gruenke (GREEN-kee). All four players completed their rookie seasons with the Jackalopes last year.
“Our organization’s relationship with New York and Bridgeport is set up to give players a chance to move up and on,” said Jackalopes General Manager Joe Clark. “We’re proud of the position Bourbeau and Toivonen have put themselves in, and believe all four of these players will compete well in camp.”
Clark made it clear that if Bridgeport decides to assign any of the four to the “AA” level, it would be to Odessa. That decision will most likely be made by the end of training camp in Connecticut. After several practice sessions this week, the Sound Tigers are scheduled to play exhibition games Friday and Saturday against Hartford.
Bourbeau, 25, began his pro career last season with Odessa, registering 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 58 games. The Bonnyville, Alberta native attended camp with the Sound Tigers last season, and was also called up to the team last November for a brief period.
Toivonen, 22, was named to the CHL’s All-Rookie Team after going 13-8-2 in 27 games with a 3.19 goals against average. The Finnish goaltender saved his best play for the postseason, going 7-1 in 11 games with a 2.40 GAA and a.907 save percentage. Toivonen was also named CHL Goalie of the Week twice in 2008-2009.
Lesperance, who also attended Bridgeport’s camp last year, had a solid first year of pro hockey with 38 points (14 goals, 24 assists) in 60 games. Gruenke improved his defensive play over the course of last season and inherited the team’s enforcer role. His 19 major penalties led all rookies last season in the CHL.
During their own training camp, the Jackalopes will play a pair of preseason games against the Tulsa Oilers on October 8th and 10th at the Ector County Coliseum. Both games will begin at 7:00 PM.
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(Odessa, TX) – The Odessa Jackalopes announced today that there has been a change in their 2009-2010 schedule.
The Jackalopes were originally scheduled to visit the Arizona Sundogs on February 17th of this season. Instead the two teams will face off on February 16th, at Tim’s Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, AZ.
The game time will remain 7:05 PM locally.
