The Alaska Aces, three time Kelly Cup champions, have signed rookie free agent forward Michael Markovic and have been assigned goaltender Niklas Lundstrom from the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League.
Markovic will wear #13 and is expected to suit up for the Aces tonight, 5:05 p.m. (KFQD/ECHL.TV) against the host Colorado Eagles at Budweiser Events Center.
Markovic, 25, skated with the University of Toronto (CIS) for five seasons and amassed 139 games with 110 points and 124 penalty minutes. The 5-foot-10, 180 pound forward was captain of the program last season, when he achieved career-highs and led the club with 32 points, 15 goals and 17 assists in 28 games.
Lundstrom, 22, is 13-12-2 with a 3.21 goals-against-average in 27 games with the Aces this season, also earning six saves in 14 minutes of action with Chicago. He was selected by the Blues in the fifth round (132nd overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and suited up in two games last season with the Swedish Elite League’s AIK, additionally posting a shutout and 2.86 goals-against-average in 24 games with Sodertalje SK of HockeyAllsvenskan (Sweden).
The 6-foot-2, 187 pound goaltender appeared in one preseason game for the Blues in September and helped Sweden earn a silver medal at the 2013 World Junior Championships. In three tournament appearances, he went 2-1 with a 1.60 goals-against-average and .944 save percentage.
The Aces are currently carrying three goaltenders (Lundstrom, Troy Redmann, Aaron Crandall) on the roster. Lundstrom has been placed on reserve.
ARCHAMBAULT, LUNDSTROM NAMED ECHL FANTASY TEAM REPRESENTATIVES
The ECHL announced on Wednesday that Olivier Archambault and Lundstrom have been selected to participate in the 2014-15 ECHL Fantasy Team, presented by the MeiGray Group. Fans had the opportunity to vote on ECHL.com for one player on each ECHL member team’s ballot to help select the 2014-15 Fantasy Team.
Archambault (currently on recall with the Iowa Wild of the AHL) has been selected to wear a special ECHL Fantasy Team jersey, while Lundstrom will wear a specially-designed “Golden Goalie†jersey on Friday, Mar. 13 when the Aces host Colorado at Sullivan Arena. Each of the Fantasy Team skater and MeigGray goaltender jerseys will be available for bid through The MeiGray Group. Jerseys will be available for bid starting on Tuesday, March 17. In the event that the winner for a team is unable to play in the preselected game, the second-place vote-getter from that team will wear the special jersey.