MOVES AND BRACKETS 

Roman Horak has been with the Hartford Wolf Pack for several days, but officially became a member of the team today when he signed an ATO with the club.

Here’s the official release:

WOLF PACK SIGN FORWARD ROMAN HORAK TO ATO

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Eighteen-year-old was Fifth-round Ranger Pick in 2009
Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Wolf Pack have signed forward Roman Horak to an Amateur Tryout (ATO) agreement.
 
Horak, 18, was a fifth-round selection (127^th overall) by the parent New York Rangers in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.  The Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic native played this season for the Chilliwack Bruins of the Western Hockey League, scoring 21 goals and adding 26 assists for 47 points in 66 games, along with 39 penalty minutes.  The 6-1, 189-pound Horak’s plus/minus rating of +15 was third-best on the Bruins’ club, and he tied for third on the team in goals and finished fourth in points and assists.

Horak added two goals and four assists for six points in six WHL playoff games for the Bruins, good for a tie for the team leadership in playoff points.

Prior to coming to North America for this season, Horak split the 2008-09 campaign between his hometown Ceske Budejovice club, for which he played seventeen Czech Extraleague games and scored one goal, and Ceske Budejovice’s junior team (31 GP, 16-17-33, 14 PIM).

The Pack also made another interesting move reassigning (recalling) defenseman Tysen Dowzak from the Charlotte Checkers. Kind of an odd time for something like that with the Checkers playoff run starting tonight. Here’s the release on that move:

DEFENSEMAN TYSEN DOWZAK REASSIGNED TO WOLF PACK

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Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the parent New York Rangers have reassigned defenseman Tysen Dowzak to the Wolf Pack from the team’s ECHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.

Dowzak, a 6-5, 226-pound rookie out of the Western Hockey League, split this season between the Checkers and the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs of the Central Hockey League.  In 35 games with Charlotte, the 22-year-old native of Fergus Falls, MN scored one goal and had three assists for four points, while logging 29 penalty minutes and a +1 rating.  In 16 CHL games with the Mudbugs, Dowzak registered two assists, 22 PIM and a +1.

Dowzak was signed as a free agent by the Rangers October 9, 2008.  He played in one 2008-09 game with the Wolf Pack, posting two penalty minutes, and skated in four ECHL games with Charlotte (nine penalty minutes), before returning to Kelowna of the WHL.  In 54 games with the Rockets, Dowzak had 14 assists and 77 penalty minutes.

In a four-year WHL career with Kelowna, Dowzak totaled 220 games-played, with four goals and 34 assists for 38 points, along with 304 PIM. 

And for those of you Charlotte Checkers or just ECHL fans, here is the bracketing of their tournament which officially kicked off last night. Thanks to the ECHL for their help in obtaining a copy of this for the site.