Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Checkers lose enforcer to Rockford

The Charlotte Checkers lost their enforcer Tuesday.

Rugged winger Sean McMorrow, who had 527 penaly minutes last season, was loaned to the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League. He signed with the Checkers last week, but didn’t play in the season-opening two games in Florida last weekend.

McMorrow, 6-feet-4 and 225 pounds, had 527 penalty minutes in 48 games with St. Hyacinthe Top Design in the LNAH last season. He played four seasons with Rochester (AHL), and had 1,020 penalty minutes in 220 games.

-- Cliff Mehrtens

Posted by Observer Sports at 1:11 PM

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cliff (or any big pucker) -- Could you walk me thru the minor league hockey world and the Checkers place in it?

I know it is not as neat and tidy as minor league baseball, but I cannot tell up from down in hockey and I imagine many other casual fans are in the same boat.

JAT

October 22, 2008 at 2:10 PM
Cliff Mehrtens said...

JAT:
The Checkers play in the ECHL, and to use a baseball analogy, are two levels below the big leagues.
The hockey ladder:
1. NHL
2. AHL (American Hockey League)
3. ECHL
4. CHL, SPHL, UHL

Checkers who do well are promoted to the AHL, in most cases. Charlotte has an affiliation with the New York Rangers, and thus its' AHL affiliate (Hartford Wolf Pack).
Usually, there are 4-6 players under contract with the Rangers/Hartford. Charlotte can't cut them, or trade them. Other players are under ECHL contracts, meaning they are property of the Checkers (and can be traded, cut, etc.)
In baseball, for example, all the farmhands are under contract to the parent team.
The ECHL's quality of play has increased a ton the past decade, as nearly all the teams have NHL affiliations. Thus, they get prospects, several who land in the NHL in a few years.
Let me know if I'm being too vague or general, and thanks for asking.

Cliff Mehrtens

October 22, 2008 at 3:01 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)