NO SURPRISE HERE – NIEMI SENT TO GREENVILLE 

BY: Mitch Beck

If this was New York Rangers Jeopardy, it would go something like this.

“The subject for Final Jeopardy is – Hockey Trades”

“And the answer is, ‘He is the only player to have been traded between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders in the last 38 years.’”

“Mitch Beck you’re in first place. If you get this one correct you will be Jeopardy champion…”

“Who is Jyri Niemi…”

“You are correct!”

All silliness aside, the Rangers picked up Niemi for a 2010 6th round pick on May 25th 2010. The recently turned 21-year old is 6’3 and 206lbs and plays both wing and defense. Of late he has played mostly left wing for the Whale. He was selected by the New York Islanders in the third round (#72 overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

With the depth the Whale have on defense and now with the acquisition of forward  Francois Bouchard from Washington yesterday, there’s no reason to keep Niemi around. The Whale now have a spare forward in Chris McKelvie and a spare defenseman in Blake Parlett…at least based upon the last game anyway.

Here’s the official release:

JYRI NIEMI REASSIGNED TO GREENVILLE

*           *           *           *

Defenseman has one assist in 8 Games for Whale this Season

Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the parent New York Rangers have reassigned defenseman Jyri Niemi from the Whale to its ECHL affiliate, the Greenville Road Warriors.

Niemi, a Finnish-born second-year pro, has skated in eight games for the Whale this season, registering one assist, four penalty minutes and a +1 rating.  Last season with the Whale, Niemi chalked up three goals and six assists for nine points, along with 22 PIM, in 46 games.  A third-round draft pick (72nd overall) by the New York Islanders in 2008 out of the Western Hockey League, Niemi was acquired by the Rangers from the Islanders May 25, 2010, in exchange for a sixth-round 2010 draft pick.

The Whale return to action this Saturday, November 12, in the first of back-to-back games in St. John’s, Newfoundland against the St. John’s IceCaps.  Faceoff is 6:00 PM, and all the CT Whale Rockin’ Hockey action can be heard live on “The Rock”, 106.9 FM, WCCC, as well as on-line at www.ctwhale.com.  The Whale’s next home game is coming up Friday, November 18, a GEICO Connecticut Cup battle with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the XL Center at 7:00.

Tickets to all 2011-12 Whale home games are on sale now at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, as well as on-line at www.ctwhale.com and through TicketMaster Charge-by-phone at 1-800-745-3000.

Save on your tickets, and get the best seats, with a ticket plan for the Whale’s 2011-12 AHL campaign, which are on sale now. For information on season seats and mini plans, visit www.ctwhale.com, or call the CT Whale ticket office at (860) 728-3366 to talk with an account executive today.

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