BRODEUR IN NET FOR THE PACK….

Your first reaction must be, “Did I read this right? Is Marty Brodeur leaving the NHL for Hartford?”

Well, not exactly.

The Wolf Pack added some competition in net for Miika Wiikman by signing former Rockford IceHogs netminder MIKE Brodeur, who while also a goaltender, is no relation to Marty.

Brodeur has bounced up and down between the AHL and ECHL. He may well be a replacement for Chris Holt and see time going back and forth between Hartford and Charlotte. Here’s hoping that under Benoit Allaire this Brodeur can transform into at least an AHL version of his namesake.

Here’s the release:

WOLF PACK SIGN GOALTENDER MIKE BRODEUR

Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Wolf Pack has signed goaltender Mike Brodeur to an American Hockey League contract.

Brodeur, a veteran of four seasons of pro hockey, played eight AHL games last year with the Rockford IceHogs. He was 2-3-0 in those eight appearances, with a 2.81 goals-against average and a 90.4% save percentage. The 25-year-old Calgary, Alberta native spent the rest of 2007-08 with the ECHL’s Pensacola Ice Pilots, going 10-13-1 with a 2.83 GAA, a 91.8% save percentage and one shutout. His save percentage mark of 91.8 was good for eighth in the league in that category.

The 6-2, 190-pound Brodeur has appeared in 19 AHL games in his career, with Rockford and Norfolk, and has compiled a 6-7-0 record, a 3.29 GAA and an 89.0% save percentage in those outings. In 92 career ECHL contests with Greenville, Augusta, Toledo and Pensacola, Brodeur is 54-45-4, with a 2.73 GAA, a 91.9% save percentage and five shutouts.

Prior to turning pro, Brodeur played one season, 2003-04, in the Western Hockey League, for the Moose Jaw Warriors. He was drafted in the seventh round (211th overall) of the 2003 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, out of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

(Martin Brodeur picture courtesy of SI.com, Mike Brodeur photo courtesy of sportsgraphs.com)