West Valley City, UT - Utah Grizzlies Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Jason Christie announced today that Ryan Kinasewich, the team's leading scorer the last three seasons, has re-signed for the 2008-2009 season. Kinasewich becomes the first signing announced by the Utah Grizzlies this offseason.
The Grizzlies are proud to be the ECHL affiliate of the NHL's New York Islanders and their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport.
"It is good to have Ryan back with us for the upcoming season," said Christie. "In three years with us, he has always been near the top of the league in scoring and shooting. He is also a great leader for our locker room. Last year, he also earned a much deserved promotion to Bridgeport for 24 games."
Kinasewich is the third-leading scorer in the 14-year history of the Grizzlies organization with 91 goals and 113 assists for 204 points in 148 games. He is second all-time in Grizzlies history with 743 shots on goal.
"It's my fourth year in Utah and it's good to be back," said Kinasewich. "It feels like home and I feel like I fit in well with the organization. Last year, getting to the conference finals, was a lot of fun, we had a great group of guys and we're looking forward to more excitement this year."
This past season, the 24-year-old had 23 goals and 37 assists for 60 points in 44 games; while tallying eight goals and four assists in 12 playoff games and also logging 24 games with Bridgeport. In 2006-2007, Kinasewich had 29 goals and 30 assists for 59 points in 44 games before sustaining a season-ending injury on February 14. In the Grizzlies inaugural ECHL season in 2005-2006, the left wing finished tied for the league lead with 39 goals, while adding 46 assists for 85 points in 60 games after being acquired in a trade from Reading.
