KLASSEN TO GREENVILLE 

If the Connecticut Whale are sending Sam Klassen back to Greenville, that means that Wade Redden and Jyri Niemi are ready to rejoin the team after dealing with their hip injuries.

That’s good news…But now with Chad Kolarik called up and apparently Ruslan Fedotenko going down with a left shoulder injury, could another Whale player be heading up to New York?

Here’s the official release:

SAM KLASSEN REASSIGNED TO GREENVILLE

*           *           *           *

Rookie Defenseman Returns to ECHL after first Three Career AHL Outings

HARTFORD, CT: Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the parent New York Rangers have reassigned defenseman Sam Klassen from the Whale back to the club’s ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors.

Klassen, a rookie out of the Western Hockey League, joined the Whale from the Road Warriors January 10 and was scoreless, with four penalty minutes and an Even plus/minus rating, in three games with Connecticut, his first career AHL action.  Klassen has skated in 34 ECHL games for the Road Warriors this year and has scored one goal and added six assists for seven points, while serving 36 minutes in penalties and compiling a +11 rating.

The Rangers signed Klassen as a free agent July 27, 2009.

The Whale are back in action this Friday night, January 21, hosting the Hamilton Bulldogs in a 7:00 PM game at the XL Center.  Fans can meet ex-Hartford Wolf Pack favorites Todd Hall and Terry Virtue, who will be signing autographs in the XL Center atrium from 6:00-7:00 PM, and being a Friday night, it’s a Guida’s Family Value Night.  Family Value packages start as low as $48 and include three tickets, three hot dogs or pizza slices, three sodas and a Whale souvenir. Guida’s Family Value Night packs are available at the XL Center ticket office and on-line at www.CTwhale.com.

Tickets for all 2010-11 Whale home games are available now at the XL Center box office, through Ticketmaster Charge-by-Phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  Tickets start at $7 each at the XL Center ticket office on game day.

For information on Whale ticket packages, group sales and VIP packages, call (860) 728-3366.

The AHL’s CT Whale is operated by Whalers Sports and Entertainment, a Hartford-based sports marketing and event firm founded by Howard Baldwin.  The team is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers.

Since 1972, the CT Lottery has generated more than $19.3 billion in sales and has transferred nearly $6.7 billion to the state’s General Fund.  Prizes have exceeded more than $11.1 billion.  Purchasers must be 18 years or older.  If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-346-6238.  For more information about the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, call (860) 713-2000, or visit the CT Lottery web site at ctlottery.org.