Atlanta sends 4 to AHL Wolves
The Atlanta Thrashers have assigned forwards Patrick Rissmiller and Fredrik Pettersson and defensemen Arturs Kulda and Andrey Zubarev to the Chicago Wolves.
Kulda ranked second among Wolves defensemen with a career-high 19 assists and third among club blueliners with a career-best 25 points in 66 games last season. The 22-year-old defenseman also established a franchise record and led the American Hockey League with a +47 plus/minus rating, the highest in the AHL since 1992-93.
Rissmiller ranked second on the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins with 47 points (20G, 27A) in 69 outings last season. The 31-year-old left wing has appeared in 182 career NHL games with the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks over parts of five seasons.
Zubarev was Atlanta's sixth choice, 187th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, and will make his North American debut with the Wolves this season after competing in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League and the now defunct Russian Super League from 2003 to 2010. Last year, the 23-year-old defenseman set career highs with seven goals and 16 points in 55 outings with Atlant Moscow Oblast (KHL).
Pettersson spent the past three seasons with Vastra Frolunda of the Swedish Elite League, where he compiled 34 goals, 77 points and 172 penalty minutes in 160 outings from 2007 to 2010. The 23-year-old left wing also spent two seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Calgary Hitmen, where he notched 93 points (43G, 50A) in 111 contests.