MOLINE, Ill. (October 8, 2013) - The Quad City Mallards have signed right wing Jim McKenzie, the Mallards announced today.
"We as an organization felt we needed a tough winger who can score because it's crucial that you have three lines that can score. We didn't want just a tough guy, we wanted a tough guy who can play, and Jim is tough and can play, which he proved when he was with Allen," said Mallards coach and general manager Terry Ruskowski. "I called coaches he's played for who said he's a really good guy and a really good team guy. He makes everyone else
on the team feel like they're two inches taller. He's a big piece of the puzzle for us."
McKenzie, 29, started last season- his sixth in professional hockey- with the ECHL's Evansville Icemen before moving on to the Allen Americans, who he helped to the Central Hockey League Ray Miron President's Cup title. The St. Paul native broke loose for six goals and thirteen points in 15 playoff games with the Americans last spring. During the regular season, McKenzie scored once and picked up five assists in 12 games with Evansville before notching two goals and two assists in 15 outings for Allen.
The 6' 2", 210-pound McKenzie first played for the Americans in 2011-12, when he scored twenty goals and totaled 44 points while piling up 168 penalty minutes in 54 games.
McKenzie, who was selected by the Ottawa Sentators in the fifth round of the 2004 National Hockey League Entry Draft with the one hundred forty-first overall choice, spent at least part of each of his first four seasons in the American Hockey League. He has skated in a total of 67 AHL games for the Binghamton Senators, Lake Erie Monsters, Worcester Sharks and Peoria Rivermen. The Icemen were his fourth ECHL club- he previously suited up for the Elmira Jackals, Johnstown Chiefs and Stockton Thunder.
McKenzie turned pro after three seasons at Michigan State, where he scored 34 goals and recorded 76 points in 112 games. In 2006-07, McKenzie capped off his college career by scoring a dozen goals and producing 30 points in 35 games while helping propel the Spartans to the NCAA title.
McKenzie spent three seasons in the junior ranks with the Green Bay Gamblers and Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League before arriving in East Lansing.
With the addition of McKenzie, the Mallards now have 24 players on their training camp roster, not including forward Brendan Turner, who did not report to camp.
The Mallards will open their seventeenth season- and their fourth in the CHL- when they host the Rapid City Rush on Saturday night, October 19 at 7:05 p.m. Tickets for the season opener and all other Mallards regular season home games are now on sale at Ticketmaster outlets, through ticketmaster.com, through Ticketmaster charge-by-phone toll free at 1-800-745-3000 or at the iWireless Center ticket office. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on game days from 10:00 a.m. until the start of the second period.
Mallards season tickets as well as half season tickets and flex packs are also still available. The Mallards offer ticket packages to meet any budget and season ticket holders also receive a host of additional benefits, including a unique season ticket holder Mallards jersey. More ticket package information is available by calling the Mallards at 309-277-1364 or emailing info@myqcmallards.com.
About the Quad City Mallards
A proud affiliate of the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild and the American Hockey League's Iowa Wild, the Quad City Mallards are approaching their seventeenth season and their fourth in the Central Hockey League. One of the winningest teams in all of minor league hockey, the Mallards competed in the United Hockey League from 1995 through 2007 and in the International Hockey League in 2009-10. The Mallards' proud history has seen them capture the UHL's Colonial Cup Championship three times (1997, 1998, 2001) and secure that league's Tarry Cup four times (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002) for the best overall regular season record. In 2001, the Mallards made professional hockey history, recording their sixth consecutive season with 50 or more wins, a feat that has yet to be matched. The i wireless Center provides a unique environment for hockey and features one-of-a-kind seating areas such as the Nest for groups and functions and the exclusive Drake Club. For more information on the Quad City Mallards or for Mallards tickets go to www.myqcmallards.com. Fans can also follow the Mallards via Twitter at twitter.com/myqcmallards
