IT’S THE SEASON… 

Now is the time of year where players in the various junior leagues and colleges begin to get a look see from AHL and ECHL teams. The Wolf Pack have begun their evaluation process today signing Harvard University Center Mike Taylor to an Amateur Try-out Contract. The Minnesota native was solid offensively posting 12 goals and 23 helpers for 35 points in 34 games good enough for the team lead in points and assists.

Here’s a piece on Taylor on the ECAC website. Laurie C. was kind enough to send along some interesting background pieces on Taylor at Boston.com, gocrimson.com and this piece and this one from thecrimson.com.

Early scouting report on Taylor is that he can really skate and may play as soon as Friday night. Should Taylor play, it’ll be interesting to see who’s given a press box seat. Of those who might possibly be given that seat, they’d be Josh Gratton, Mark Lee, Jordan Owens or Hugh Jessiman. Lee has been playing VERY well and Owens and Jessiman both scored against Lowell so Howlings would make the favorite to sit at Gratton or possibly they could move Pock back on defense and sit one of the Defensemen at which point that would favor either Sauer or Brown.

For more information, here’s the official announcement.

WOLF PACK SIGN CENTER MIKE TAYLOR TO ATO
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Minnesota Native Played Four Seasons at Harvard University

HARTFORD, March 27, 2008: Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Wolf Pack have signed center Mike Taylor to an Amateur Tryout (ATO) agreement.

Taylor, 22, has just completed a four-year career at Harvard University, during which he totaled 29 goals and 41 assists for 70 points, along with 54 penalty minutes, in 125 games. A 5-11, 180-pound native of Maple Grove, MN, Taylor led the Crimson in points and assists this season, with totals of 12-23-35 (8 PIM) in 34 games. Those numbers were good for a tie for fifth in the ECACHL in points and a tie for sixth in the league in assists.

Here are his official stats from hockeydb.com

Also, Mitch Fritz has been honored by the franchise as the American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year in recognition for all the charitable work he’s done all season long.

Here’s the announcement:

FRITZ NAMED HARTFORD WOLF PACK’S 2007-08 AMERICAN SPECIALTY/AHL MAN OF THE YEAR

HARTFORD, March 27, 2008: The Hartford Wolf Pack are proud to announce that left wing Mitch Fritz has been named the team’s winner of the American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year award for his outstanding contributions to the Hartford community during the 2007-08 season.

Fritz has been injured for nearly the entire season, but he has used the time created by his own misfortune to help others on a consistent basis. In addition to seeking opportunities constantly for school visits, and participating along with his teammates in all of the Wolf Pack’s team fund-raising events, which have generated thousands of dollars for local causes such as Special Olympics Connecticut and Gaylord Hospital, Fritz has been a regular visitor, without any prompting or solicitation from the Wolf Pack staff, to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. During these visits to buoy the spirits of the young patients, Fritz often prevails upon groups of his younger teammates to accompany him, to impress upon them the positive impact that these visits have on the children at the hospital.

Fritz also was the driving force behind the “Hartford Wolf Pack Community Partners”, which is a program to encourage Wolf Pack fans to take an active role in helping the Hartford community. Fans who register their e-mail address receive monthly e-mail alerts from Fritz in regard to community needs that the program participants can help fulfill. Among the examples of assistance offered through this effort are: the collection of razors and shaving cream for the South Park Inn, a Hartford transitional living facility, donation of art supplies to a summer camp, collecting winter accessories for a coat drive and conducting a book drive for the Community Renewal Team’s Head Start classrooms.

In addition, Fritz expressed an interest in working with the March of Dimes, a cause near-and-dear to his heart due to the fact that the now 6-8, 258-pound physical specimen started life as a four-pound premature baby. That led to his captaining a Wolf Pack team for the upcoming March of Dimes “March for Babies”, for which he will also be shooting a public service announcement.

In recognition of his efforts, Fritz will be presented with an etched crystal trophy during an on-ice presentation prior to an upcoming Wolf Pack home game.

Fritz is now one of 29 finalists for the AHL’s 2007-08 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award, honoring the overall American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year. The league award is named after the former Hershey Bears forward and AHL All-Star who died in 1997 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. The winner of the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award will be announced by the AHL in the coming weeks.

(Mike Taylor Picture courtesy of viewimages.com; Mitch Fritz picture courtesy of Heather Rutsch via hartfordwolfpack.com)