Schrock calls it a career

Fort Wayne Komets announced in a recent press release the retirement of Kaleigh Schrock.

A hometown hero, from Fort Wayne, Schrock played his entire six-season pro career with the Komets, while the team played in three different leagues.

In his first season, the Komets played in the International Hockey League, then two in the Central Hockey League and the final three in the ECHL. Both the IHL and CHL have ceased operations.

A 5’11”, 180 lbs. forward, Schrock played in 379 professional games and picked up 129 points (66g, 63a) while sitting 838 minutes in penalties. He added another 22 p0ints (15 g, 7a) in and 71 penalty minutes in 60 playoff games.

This past season, Schrock played in 40 games for the Komets and collected six points (4g, 2a) along with 52 penalty minutes, adding another three points and 16 penalty minutes in 12 playoff games. Schrock was a +10 player this past season.

“Kaleigh Schrock has been a huge asset to the Komet organization during his entire career,” Komet president Michael Franke said in the press release.  “We cannot thank him enough. I know his post hockey career in Fort Wayne will be a huge success and he will follow in the footsteps of Len Thornson, Lionel Repka, Colin Chin and all the rest that have made a difference in our community.”

Komets’ Qualifying offers

The Komets handed out its eight qualifying offers on July 1 to a goaltender, three defensemen and four forwards. To date,

Each team was entitled to reserve the rights to a maximum of eight qualified players.  Of the eight qualified players, no more than four could be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the upcoming 2015-16 season).  Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded.

The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until Aug. 1 at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action.  Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a non-veteran player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season.

A team that extends a valid qualifying offer to a veteran player will retain the rights to that veteran until Aug. 1.  After Aug. 1, if the veteran player is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran shall be deemed a restricted free agent and shall be entitled to seek and secure offers of employment from other ECHL teams.  Restricted free agents may not be traded.  When a restricted free agent receives a contract offer from a team other than the team with the player’s rights and the restricted free agent wishes to accept the contract offer, the restricted free agent and the offering member must, within 24 hours, notify the ECHL, the team with the player’s rights and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association.  The member with the player’s rights shall have seven days after the date it is notified to exercise its right to match the contract offer.

If a restricted free agent is not signed to either an offer sheet or a contract by an ECHL team by Aug. 31, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent.

Listed below are the eight players the Komets sent qualifying offers to. So far two of them have signed the offer sheet and will start the new season in Fort Wayne.

Eric Faille: A 26-year-old 6’0″, 179 lbs. right wing from Lachine, PQ, Faille made his pro debut last season with 54 points (27g, 27a) in 45 games with the Komets and he also added six points (2g, 4a) in 21 games on lone to the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League. Before playing with the Komets, Faille played parts of four seasons with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the QMJHL, his final season wearing the captain’s ‘C’. He followed that up with another four seasons at the University of Moncton

Matthew Pistilli: Also a 26-year-old Quebec native, this 6’2″, 218 lbs. right winger calls Montreal home.

Pistilli made his pro debut in teh 2009-10 season splitting time between Albany of the AHL and Florida of the ECHL. Since then he has had ECHL stops at Florida and South Carolina and also been on loan to AHL teams from Charlotte, Bridgeport and Norfolk.

This past season, Pistilli picked up 56 points (21g, 35a) in 58 games with the Komets, adding another three (1g, 2a) in a 10-game stretch with the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL.

Shawn Szydlowski: The Komets offered a deal to its most loaned out player Szydlowski, a 24-year-old 6’0″ 209 lbs. forward from St. Claire Shores, MI.

Following a four season stint with the OHL’s Erie Otters, Szydlowski made his pro debut at the end of the 2010-11 season with a pair of games played for the Portland Pirates of the AHL.

Since then he has spent time in the ECHL, AHL and CHL, but his most successful run came last season when he put up 74 points (38g, 36a) in just 57 games with the Komets, then added another six points (2g, 4a) in eight post season contests. Szydlowski certainly had no problem with regular season interuptions that saw him travel on loan to Binghamton, Lake Erie and Norfolk of the AHL. Szydlowski, the team’s MVP and top scorer agreed to terms earlier this week and will suit up with the Komets.

Brett Perlini: This 25-year-old 6’2″, 201 lbs. forward from Sault Ste. Marie, ON was drafted in the Seventh Round (192nd overall) by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2010 Entry Draft and finished a four-season run at Michigan State in the 2011-12 season.

Perlini made previous ECHL stops at Bakersfield, Greenville, Toledo and Indy before playing 57 games at Fort Wayne last season. Three was also a couple of games in Cleveland with the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL.

With the Komets last season, Perlini put up 31 points (17g, 14a) and he also added five points (2g, 3a) in nine playoff games.

Perlini has signed to join the team for the 2015-16 season.

Drew Daniels: A 26-year-old 6’2″ 192 lbs. defenseman from  Suffern, NY played all of last season in Fort Wayne after previous pro stops at Allen (then a CHL team), Cincinnati and Utah.

Daniels, who, played junior in the USHL with Sioux City before finishing a three year run at Northeastern University appeared in all 72 games last season collecting 45 points (4g, 41a) and 14 penalty minutes. He finished the season an amazing +46 and then adding another half dozen points (2g, 4a) in 12 playoff games.

Earlier this week, Daniels agreed to terms with the Komets brining its top defenseman from last season back to the fold.

Cody Sol: The Komets also protected Sol, another resilient young defenseman who also played in 72 games last season.

The 24-year-old, 6’4″, 214 lbs. defender from Woodstock, ON was in his third season as a pro and wrapped up the campaign with 18 points (7g, 11a) along with 154 penalty minutes.

Sol played parts of five seasons with Saginaw and Kitchener  in the OHL and made his pro debut in the middle of that with playing a game for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves in 2010.

He split time between St. John’s of the AHL and Colorado of the ECHL in his first full pro season 2012-13, then played 65 games at Ontario and one at St. John’s the following season before settling in at Fort Wayne.

Sol was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in the Fifth Round (125th Overall) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. He officially signed on with the Komets later in the month.

James Martin: The Komets also sent an offer to Martin, a 6’2″, 192 lbs. defenseman from Winnipeg, MB who played in 60 games for the team last season, contributing 41 points (9g, 32a) and 40 penalty minutes in the regular season and then another four points (1g, 3a) in a dozen playoff encounters.

Martin spent parts of five seasons honing his craft in the WHL at Swift Current and Kootenay and he was able to stay on the west coast, making his pro debut with Abbotsford of the AHL in 2011-12. He also make earlier ECHL stops at Alaska and Utah before joining the Komets last season.

He also played seven games on loan to the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL last season.

Pat Nagle: This 6’2″, 181 lbs. 27 year old native of Rochester, MI played a big part of the success for the Komets last season appearing in 33 games but also going out on loan to Lake Erie, Rochester and Grand Rapids of the AHL on various occasions.

Nagle posted a 2.48 Goals Against Average and a .907 Save Percentage for the Komets through the regular season and also appeared in five playoff games when he raised the bar with a 2.15 GAA and .913 SP.

Nagle played junior hockey with St. Louis in the NAHL in 2006-07, then moved on played four seasons of NCAA hockey at Ferris State. He dressed a few times for Norfolk of the American Hockey League but made his first pro appearance in goal with the ECHL’s Florida Everblades in 2011-12. He returned for another season in Florida and also appeared in a game for Syracuse Crunch of the AHL in 2012-13 and then played for Idaho of the ECHL in 2013-14.

The goaltender agreed to terms earlier this week.

Komets add five

Along with the five that have signed their offer sheets so far, five other players have made the commitment to attend camp with the Komets this fall.

Among the signings is ECHL veteran Peter Sivak, a 33-year-old 5’11,” 179 lbs. native of Cheb, Czech Republic. Sivak will actually be starting just his fourth season of ECHL play, but he has several seasons of pro experience under his belt in both Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Sivak split his time last season between Orlando and Stockton and also played a half dozen games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the AHL.

Sivak has put up 185 points (79g, 106a) in 185 games played in the ECHL so far.

Kyle Thomas, a 25-year-old native of Waltham, MA will be back for another campaign in Fort Wayne after moving in from Columbus of the SPHL midway through the 2014-15 season.

The 5’11” 181 lbs. forward also played a game with Quad City last year before coming on loan to the Komets and putting up seven points (3g, 4a) in 23 games. He also played in three post season matches and scored a couple of goals.

Austin Levi, a 23-year-old, 6’3,” 185 lbs. defenseman from Columbus Ohio will begin his third season of pro hockey looking to grab a spot with the Komets.

Levi was drafted in the third round (85th Overall) in the 2010 entry draft by the Carolina Hurricane. At the time, Levi had played one year of OHL hockey at Plymouth and he went on to play three more there before splitting time between Carolina’s AHL (Charlotte) and ECHL (Florida) teams in both 2013-14 and last season. Midway through the campaign last year, Levi moved to Stockton to play with the Thunder. In 99 ECHL games played so far, Levi has collected 32 points (7g, 25a) and 78 penalty minutes.

The Komets also added a pair of rookies to the fold: Alex Grieve and Josh Ranalli, both forwards. Grieve is a 25-year-old, 6’0,” 194 lbs. center from Calgary that finished a four-year stint at Bentley College and played three games at the end of the regular season at Quad City.

Grieve, team captain at Bentley in his final season enjoyed his best offensive season the year before when he collected 47 points (25g, 22a) in 37 games. He will still be looking for his first professional point when the Komets begin the new season.

Ranalli, a 24-year-old 5’12,” 185 lbs. forward from Hamilton, ON played his junior nearby at Oakville in the OJHL then attended Adrian College in Michigan for four years. Last season with the Bulldogs, Ranalli collected 45 points (17g, 28a) in 31 games.

Komets to affiliate with Avs

Earlier this month, the Komets agreed to an affiliation deal with the Colorado Avalanche for the next two seasons.

The Komets were also affiliated with the Avs last season and in a team press release, the general manager said he was please to continue the association.

“The Komet organization is honored and very excited about our new two-year affiliation with the Colorado Avalanche,” Fort Wayne general manager David Franke said.  “We had a very good agreement with them last year and they were at the top of our list this summer to continue the relationship.  “Craig Billington, assistant general manager, and David Oliver, player development director, are great to work with and they understand the value of a good affiliation to both the Avalanche and their AHL affiliate, San Antonio, and the Komets.

“This two-year deal will allow all parties to better utilize their efforts on player personnel during the season and next summer.  Head Coach Gary Graham will attend San Antonio’s training camp to get a relationship built with the players coming to Fort Wayne.”

Last year the Komets reached the 100-point plateau for the first time since 2009-10 (48-18-6, 102 points) under the direction of Coach Graham for a successful debut as an affiliate of Colorado.