Trio of Veterans Brings over 1,200 Games of NHL/AHL Experience, and three Calder Cup Titles, to Hartford Roster
BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, July 1, 2019: Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Chris Drury announced today that the Wolf Pack has signed defenseman Vincent LoVerde, goaltender Tom McCollum and forward Harry Zolnierczyk to AHL contracts.
LoVerde, a veteran of eight pro seasons, has spent the last two years with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. In 68 games with the Marlies in 2018-19, the 5-11, 207-pound LoVerde scored three goals and added eight assists for 11 points, while serving 33 minutes in penalties. In 13 playoff games with Toronto, LoVerde had six assists, good for second among Marlie defensemen, and a tie for third overall on the team, in helpers. In 2017-18, LoVerde helped the Marlies to a Calder Cup, the second of his career.
Prior to joining the Toronto organization, LoVerde, a 30-year-old native of Chicago, captained the Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate for the previous three seasons, two with the Ontario Reign and one with the Manchester Monarchs. In 2014-15 with Manchester, LoVerde won his first Calder Cup title, in the Monarchs’ last season in the AHL. In 432 career AHL games with the Marlies, Reign, and Monarchs, LoVerde has totaled 45 goals and 107 assists for 152 points and has registered 316 penalty minutes. Before turning pro, he played four seasons of CCHA action with Miami University.
McCollum, 29, just completed his tenth season of pro hockey, playing 34 games with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. The 6-3, 215-pound native of Amherst, NY, went 12-10-10, with a 2.72 goals-against average, an 89.9% save percentage and two shutouts. A first-round draft choice (30th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings in 2008, McCollum has seen action in three NHL games with the Red Wings in his career and has logged 315 total AHL games with the Admirals, Grand Rapids Griffins, Charlotte Checkers, and Stockton Heat. His career AHL stats show a record of 147-117-23, with a 2.72 GAA, a 90.7% save percentage and 11 shutouts. McCollum won a Calder Cup with the Griffins in 2012-13.
Prior to turning pro, McCollum played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, with the Guelph Storm and Brampton Battalion.
Zolnierczyk, who is entering his ninth pro campaign, played last season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. The 5-11, 186-pound Toronto native had a pro-career-high 51 points, including a team-leading 36 assists (15-36-51), along with 38 penalty minutes, in 72 games.
The former Brown University Bruin has skated in 84 career NHL games, with the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders, Anaheim Ducks, and Nashville Predators, totaling seven goals and six assists for 13 points, plus 93 penalty minutes. In 426 career AHL contests with the Thunderbirds, Adirondack Phantoms, Norfolk Admirals, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, San Diego Gulls, and Milwaukee Admirals, the 31-year-old Zolnierczyk has amassed 106 goals and 137 assists for 243 points, along with 446 PIM.
Zolnierczyk was originally signed as a free agent by the Flyers March 8, 2011.
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