Another former Pack player signed a contract to continue the pursuit of their NHL dreams. A veteran of three campaigns with the NY Ranger’s top farm club, Matt Kinch was signed by the San Jose Sharks and will spend the season in Worcester.
Here’s the release:
The San Jose Sharks, parent club of the AHL’s Worcester Sharks, announced today that the club has signed free agent defensemen Matt Kinch and Brett Westgarth to one-year contracts.
Kinch (right), 28, spent the 2007-08 season with the AHL’s Binghamton Senators. In 73 games played, he tied for second among team defensemen with 25 points (9-16-25) and accumulated 73 penalty minutes.
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound defenseman has spent parts of four seasons in the AHL. He has appeared in 246 AHL regular season games with Hartford and Binghamton, posting 82 points (18-64-82) and 143 penalty minutes.
Kinch played in Europe for three seasons from 2004-07, including time in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. Prior to his professional career, he spent five seasons with Calgary (WHL) appearing in 320 regular season games and registering 240 points (63-177=240).
The Red Deer, Alberta, native was originally selected by the Buffalo Sabres in 1999.
If you’re ever curious about how the NHL or AHL configures their schedule, there is an interesting article about it at TheAHL.com.
(Matt Kinch photo courtesy of viewimages.com)
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