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| SportsFriday, September 21, 2007 9:48 PM CDT |
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Thunder signs dispersal draft picks Ralph, Katz
Jason Ralph scored his first goal of last season against the Bloomington PrairieThunder at U.S. Cellular Coliseum as a member of the Rockford IceHogs. The 6-foot, 185-pound veteran forward hopes to score a lot more goals in Bloomington this season, but this time as a member of the home team. PrairieThunder coach Derek Booth announced the signings Thursday of Ralph and rookie center Noah Katz to one-year contracts, bringing the team’s preseason roster to 21 players. Bloomington obtained the rights to Ralph and Katz through the International Hockey League dispersal draft. Both played in the United Hockey League last season with Rockford and Elmira, respectively. The 28-year-old Ralph, who will be starting his seventh season in professional hockey, missed the first part of last year with a hand injury. He saw action in 34 regular season games, scoring 10 goals with 21 assists for 31 points. He also scored one goal and had four assists for five points in nine UHL playoff games to help the IceHogs win the Colonial Cup. “Any time you can get a player, who is coming off a championship season, on your team it’s a bonus,” said Booth. “Jason knows what it takes to build a competitive team. He was the player-assistant coach at Rockford last year, so he brings a wealth of experience with him. Plus, he’s familiar with a lot of the players we will be facing this season.” Ralph began his career with Bakersfield in the WCHL in 2001-02 after graduating and playing at Union College in New York. He played three seasons in Bakersfield before moving to Rockford, where he has played the last three seasons. During his six-year career, the right-handed shooting Ralph has played in 377 games. He has scored 105 goals while adding 153 assists for 258 points with 819 minutes of penalties. Ralph, who hails from Carp, Ontario, has played in postseason competition during five of his six years. He has seen action in 36 playoff games, scoring five goals with 19 assists for 24 points. “I was honestly thinking about retiring until Bloomington drafted me,” said Ralph. “It’s an ideal situation because it’s close to Rockford where my wife’s family is. Having played in Bloomington and against the PrairieThunder, I know that it’s a first-class organization with the finest playing facility in the league. “I’m familiar with the players we’ll be going up against because basically it’s the same league I played in last year with just a different title. I know Bloomington will be a competitive situation because of the players Coach Booth has signed.” Ralph describes himself as a hard-working player, who believes good things happen to those who work the hardest. The 5-10, 180-pound Katz played 12 games with Elmira in his first pro season last year, scoring two goals and adding one assist for three points. The PrairieThunder begins play in the IHL on Oct. 20 at Flint. The PrairieThunder begins its home season Oct. 26 against Fort Wayne at 7:05 p.m. at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. Get area high school sports scores and statistics at Varsity Sports. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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John G wrote on Sep 21, 2007 11:12 PM:
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