Ryan Stanzel
Director of Communications
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
713.361.7930 (Direct Line)
Call 281.265.7469 for pre-season game tickets

AEROS RECEIVE SIX FROM WILD

HOUSTON, Texas – Minnesota Wild President and General Manager Doug Risebrough today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has reassigned the following six players to the training camp for the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League (AHL): forwards Ryan Hamilton and Mark Rooneem, defenseman Chris Ovington, John Scott and Ryan Stokes (pictured), and goaltender Miroslav Kopriva. The Aeros’ training camp schedule will be announced next week.

Wild training camp commences Friday with 21 players (out of 45) who have seen time with the Aeros: left wings Derek Boogaard, Danny Irmen, Peter Olvecky, Benoit Pouliot, Stephane Veilleux and Roman Voloshenko; centers Mikko Koivu and Bryan Lundbohm; right wings Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Matt Foy, Joey Tetarenko and Joel Ward; defensemen Shawn Belle, Brent Burns, Kurtis Foster, Erik Reitz, Nick Schultz, Clayton Stoner and A.J. Thelen, and goalies Manny Fernandez and Josh Harding. Wild camp also features goalie Tony Quesada, signed to an AHL deal by the Aeros, and right wing Ben Thomson, signed by the Aeros to an amateur tryout.

Hamilton, 21 (4/15/85), signed an amateur tryout with the Aeros on May 5 and appeared in one playoff game with the Aeros. The 6-foot-2, 219-pound native of Oshawa, Ont., was signed by Minnesota as a free agent on July 5. Hamilton led Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League with 46 goals, including eight game-winning goals, to go along with 26 assists for 72 points in 63 games.

Rooneem, 23 (1/9/83), has played parts of the last two seasons with the Aeros, scoring one goal and accruing 10 penalty minutes in seven games. The 6-foot-2, 191-pound native of Hinton, Alberta, has put up 51 points (26-25=51) in 103 ECHL games since 2004-05. Rooneem was Los Angeles’ fourth-round pick (No. 115 overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft and was signed by Minnesota on June 3, 2004.

Ovington, 26 (8/15/80), signed an amateur tryout with Houston on April 1 and played 11 combined regular and post-season games with the Aeros, totaling two points. He was an impressive plus-three in his Aeros debut, April 9 against San Antonio. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound native of Vernon, B.C., played five seasons at the University of Alberta – four for Aeros head coach Rob Daum. He was voted Canada West’s Top Defenseman and a First Team All-Star in 2005-06. He was Florida’s sixth-round pick (No. 148 overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

Scott, 23 (9/26/82), is coming off four seasons at Michigan Tech, where he posted 19 points (7-12=19) and 252 penalty minutes in 126 games. The 6-foot-7, 255-pounder hails from St. Catharines, Ont.

Stokes, 23 (6/23/83), spent the entire season in Houston in 2005-06, putting up five points (2-3=5) and 164 penalty minutes in 75 games. He also played seven games without a point in 2004-05. The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder from Corruna, Ont., was signed by the Wild as a free agent on May 25, 2004.

Kopriva, 23 (12/5/83), went 6-4-1 with a 3.51 gaa in 12 games last season with the Aeros as a rookie. The 6-foot-2, 176-pound native of Kladno, Czech Republic, was Minnesota’s sixth-round pick (No. 187 overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Stoner also went 12-3-0 with a 2.33 gaa in 15 games with Austin of the Central Hockey League in 2005-06.

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