The Komets announced Wednesday that three more players have agreed to terms and have been added to the preseason roster.
Defenseman Simon Mangos and forwards Adam Krug and Shane Heffernan have inked agreements and will be in the Komet camp when it opens on Monday, Oct. 10.
Mangos, 31, will be joining fellow 2011 CHL champion Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs Brett Smith and Jamie Milam in the Fort Wayne lineup. Mangos and Smith were also teammates for four years at Ferris State University prior to turning pro in 2004. The Cambridge, Ontario native led CHL defensemen in the 2011 playoffs with four goals and 15 points in 21 games. Mangos posted five goals and 32 points last year in regular season play and registered a career year in 2009-10 with 33 assists and 45 points in 63 games with Bossier-Shreveport.
"Simon was a very important player for Bossier-Shreveport last year," Komet general manager David Franke said. "He is a veteran defenseman who can skate very well, move the puck and provide some offense. With Simon's signing to go along with Bossier-Shreveport teammate Jamie Milam and Komet All-Star Frankie DeAngelis, we have a trio that amassed over 120 points last season in the CHL." Mangos will be entering his eighth pro season and fourth CHL campaign.
Krug, 28, will be starting his fourth year as a pro after leading the Nijmegen Devils in Holland last season with 51 assists and 81 points in 40 European league games. Krug added four goals and 15 points in seven playoff games with Nijmegen. The Livonia, Michigan native is a brother of Matt Krug who appeared in three regular season games with Fort Wayne last year and all eight of the Komets' playoff games.
Heffernan, 23, skated AAHL stints during 2008-09 and 2009-10 with Chi-Town, Chicago and Evansville. The Kitchener, Ontario native was the AAHL's scoring champion during 2008-09 posting 34 goals and 91 points in 38 games, splitting the season between Chi-Town and Evansville. Last year the forward appeared in 36 games with Tonsberg of Norway posting 24 goals and 25 assists for 49 points to rank fourth in scoring with Tonsberg.
The Komets' preseason roster reaches 16 players with the addition of Mangos, Krug and Heffernan including 11 forwards, four defensemen and one goaltender.
Comments
I have to congratulate the Franke's and the K's the way they are putting their defense together. Very impressive group of Cescon, Milam, DeAngelis, and Mangos. Good job!
The statistcs of Krug and Heffernan seem good. With so many European leagues I have a problem trying to translate statistics from one league to another. Maybe someone out there can give me a clue.
Anyway, I think this was a good day for the Komets.
We could have just kept Boucher and Chaulk and moved the Bugs up here.
Still waiting on power forwards and big scorers, but it is only early August.
LOL, I guess we can start assuming that if the Frankes come out and say that nothing is close to happening that we will see player signings announced within a day or two...
I like what the K's have put together so far.
Does Krug fight ??????
Mighty....always a fighter not a lover.
Everybody loves-da-Mango!!!
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zDwWREdDZ2Y/Sx7-HdaFqgI/AAAAAAAABl8/tTSp_g-Zvb8/mango%5B3%5D.jpg
Adam Krug (check this goal out!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5dxFYEyRIc
If that is his game, Welcome to the Jungle Baby!!!
LOL
I have a great post coming....it is in moderation....
wait for it.....
Gonna love it.
Kinda curious what Franke is doing about another goalie.
Oh right....Lines....Updated:
Chaulk, $$$$, $$$$
Smith, &&&&, PC
Lapointe, Auger, Schrock
Mele, Krug
Heffernen, McIlrath, Trottier
Frankie D, Cescon
Milam, Mango
&&&&, &&&&
Boucher, &&&&
Probable signings to come: Molle x2, APOD, Jimmy B.
When Hit can make his lines without having to rely on PC's 71% to fill a spot, I'll know this team is ready for action.
I wouldn't worry too much about another goalie at this point. The market is ALWAYS flush with goalies, and this season even more so. They can afford to take their and get a decent kid for cheap.
PS, if we have Cescon pencilled in at number#2 on our D corp we are in trouble!
Cescon and Frankie were paired together some last season and I think what you will see is a balanced defensive approach pairing an offensive minded Dman with a solid defender. I had to pair what we have thus far. When we have Molles....then the pairings will change up some probably.
Cescon is a very good physical DMan when he keeps his head and doesn't skate himself out of position to pound someone and leave the net wide open. I think he is pretty dang solid and compliments any of the offensive Dmen well.
Komets need to add Russell Smith-Justin Sawyer-Dustin Mollie
on D.
Quality signings.....
I thought Cescon did fine last year. There for a while last year he was the only one out there who looked like he gave a crap.
Cescon is a younger tougher Kevin Bertram.
I got on Cescon last year because I think at times he lost his awareness of where he was on the ice and threw the puck away but as with all AA players they are going to have a glaring fault or two. But he plays hard and brings energy and his passing skills so you take the faults along with the good.
Alan, I understand what you are saying about European leagues and this one, or Krug's team anyway, seams to not have many fans if you look at seats. Hard to find one with a person sitting in it.
What is the deal I have not seen Bobby Phillips name any where. Is he not being offered any deal from the Komets. We need him I think he is a true Defenseman.
Coming off a bad shoulder and having the worst +/- of anyone on the blue line last year I am not sure they should be drinking out of that well again.
Plus we need a roster spot for BWs.
Bobby took a lot of crap last season that wasn't justified. Some was. A lot wasn't. I'd take him back next season without question.
I would take Phillips back any day of the week!
Ok... I guess I'll have another year to call him Bobby Townsend.
Truthfully other than DeAngelis I would have been thrilled to see them bring nobody else back from the defense. They were not good last year. Cescon brings some physical play to the table so I can see why they want him back. But the rest as far as I am concerned were a weak link of this team last year. Amazing how Warner had better numbers than Phillips both offense and defense and yet people ran him out of town.
Always interesting which players fans in this town latch on to and which ones become the outcasts.
Really?
BWs couldn't pass his way out of a wet paper bag, Snuff.
He gave the puck away in his own zone more times than he got the puck out. He was awful. And he is hurt alot.
Cescon was one of the very few on the team that had guts. Like JM said, a younger better Bertram.
But back to this coming year:
We are 3 scoring forwards away from being a contender once again.
"Cescon was one of the very few on the team that had guts. "
Agree 100%. He was the only one last year willing to clear traffic from in front of the Komets net. However guts and being a great d-man are to different things. His cross ice passes were no better than Warners or anyone elses last year when it came to giveaways.
As a whole the D core was as bad as it has been in recent years. One mediocre year does in the past does not give Phillips the weight with me to skate on what was a horrible year last year. Some will make the excuse that he played with too many different partners. Maybe it was because they were trying to find someone to cover up his mistakes. Maybe not. Maybe he was hurt all year. Whatever the case this is professional sports and excuses are worth as much as yesterdays newspaper blowing around on the interstate.
I saw nothing from anyone on the blue line beyond Frankie and Cescon to make me want to see them in Fort Wayne next year, and that includes Warner who I doubt is even in their radar or memories at this point.
ERRRRR.... unless of course yesterdays newspaper included one of many fine columns by Mr. Blake Sebring in which case any true blue American would gladly risk his or her life to run out in traffic and rescue the paper from the desecration of Good Year tiremarks!
Are the Molles going to be string enough to cover up mistakes of pinching defensemen with offensive first skills like Mango, FD, and Milam? I think Cescon has proven he can get back most of the time and make a defensive play.
Are there any updates on the Molles?