Kopriva to compete at Aeros camp

FIRST THREE ASSIGNED TO HOUSTON FROM MINNESOTA

HOUSTON, Texas – Minnesota Wild President and General Manager Doug Risebrough today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has reassigned forward Riley Emmerson and goalies Anton Khudobin and Miroslav Kopriva to the training camp for the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Wild training camp commences Friday with 19 players (out of 55) who have seen time with the Aeros: left wings Derek Boogaard, Ryan Hamilton, Benoit Pouliot, Stephane Veilleux and Roman Voloshenko; centers Mikko Koivu, Danny Irmen and Peter Olvecky; right wings Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Matt Foy and Joel Ward; defensemen Shawn Belle, Brent Burns, Kurtis Foster, Erik Reitz, Nick Schultz, John Scott, Clayton Stoner and A.J. Thelen, and goalie Josh Harding.

Emmerson, 21 (2/7/86), played 42 games last season with the Aeros ECHL affiliate, Texas Wildcatters, tallying three points on two goals and one assist with 99 penalty minutes (PIM). The Burnaby, B.C. native, spent the prior two seasons with the Tri-City Americans of the WHL tallying two points (1-1=2) and 170 PIM in 101 games.

Khudobin, 21 (5/7/86), played in 16 games last season with Magnitogorsk of the Russian League marking a 2.72 goals against average (GAA). The Kazakhstan native also played 44 games with the WHL’s Saskatoon during the 2005-06 season tallying a save percentage of .917 and a GAA of 2.90 with the Blades.

Kopriva, 23 (12/5/83), split last season with the Aeros and Wildcatters, playing 13 games in Houston tallying 3-6-1 record, a 3.22 GAA and a .899 save percentage. He played 19 games with Texas marking a 9-1-2 record with a 3.03 GAA and a .898 save percentage. The Kladno, Czech Republic, native has totaled 25 games with the Aeros over the past two seasons marking an over save percentage of .895 and a 3.62 GAA.

The Aeros begin the regular season on October 6 in Toyota Center versus the rival Chicago Wolves. Ticket packages are available by calling 713-974-PUCK. Single game tickets will go on sale later this month. The pre-season begins a week prior in Beaumont on September 29 with tickets available at all Ticketmaster outlets.