From The Norfolk Admirals:
NORFOLK – The Norfolk Admirals have recalled defenseman Gabe Guentzel from their ECHL affiliate, the Fort Wayne Komets. In addition, the Admirals have loaned forwards Luca Caputi and Garrett Klotz to the Komets while the Anaheim Ducks, NHL parent club of the Admirals, have reassigned forward Ryan Lasch to the Komets from the Admirals. The announcements were made today by Admirals Assistant General Manager Bob Ferguson.
Guentzel, 6-foot-0, 185-pounds, has appeared in six games with the Admirals this season, recording one assist and six penalty minutes. Guentzel was loaned to Fort Wayne last Thursday and appeared in three games with the Komets, posting one goal and four points. Guentzel netted his first professional goal last Thursday in the Komets’ Thanksgiving Day victory over the Kalamazoo Wings.
Norfolk signed Guentzel to an AHL Standard Player’s Contract on September 21. Last season, the 24-year-old native of Woodbury, Minnesota, appeared in 12 regular season games with the Syracuse Crunch before recording an assist in four Calder Cup Playoff games with Syracuse. An undrafted defenseman, Guentzel joined the Crunch after completing his collegiate career at Colorado College, where he scored 16 goals and 94 points in 156 career games.
Caputi, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound left wing, has appeared in 10 games with the Admirals this season, netting one goal and six points. The 24-year-old native of Toronto, Ontario, split last season in the AHL between the Toronto Marlies and Syracuse Crunch, posting 12 goals and 25 points in 60 games. The fifth-year-pro has appeared in 203 career AHL games between the Admirals, Crunch, Marlies and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, posting 55 goals and 128 points. He has also played 35 career NHL games between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring three goals and nine points. Caputi signed an AHL Standard Player’s Contract with Norfolk on September 21. He was Pittsburgh’s fourth-round choice (111th overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Klotz, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound left wing, has appeared in two games with the Admirals this season, posting two penalty minutes. He made his Norfolk debut on November 12 at Albany. The 24-year-old native of Regina, Saskatchewan, played in 33 games with the Adirondack Phantoms last season, netting two goals and four points with 26 penalty minutes. The fifth-year pro has appeared in 157 career AHL games between Norfolk, Adirondack and Philadelphia, scoring four goals and 11 points with 191 penalty minutes. An undrafted forward, Klotz signed an AHL Standard Player’s Contract with the Admirals on September 26.
Lasch, a 5-foot-7, 170-pound center, has appeared in 11 games with the Admirals this season, scoring one goal and four points with four penalty minutes. The 25-year-old native of Lake Forest, California, made his North American professional debut with the Admirals following two seasons of professional hockey in Europe. Last season, Lasch won the Finnish Elite League (SM – Liiga) scoring title and led all league players in post-season scoring. In 59 games with Lahti in 2011-12, Lasch netted 24 goals and 62 points. Lasch signed a two-year contract with the Ducks on May 31, 2012. An undrafted forward, Lasch appeared in 161 career games with the St. Cloud State University Huskies from 2006-10.
The Admirals return to Scope on Wednesday in the first meeting of the season with the Hershey Bears. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m. in the second Admirals Value Night of the season, with Family Fun Packs and Student Rush Night tickets available.
The Norfolk Admirals Assistant General Manager Bob Ferguson announced two player reassignments today. Forward Matt Kennedy was reassigned by the Anaheim Ducks. Defenseman Nick Schaus was loaned to the Komets by the Admirals.
