The Checkers have brought in reinforcements at the center position by signing rookie Mike Aviani to a professional tryout contract.
Aviani, a 21-year-old who signed an ECHL deal with the Florida Everblades over the summer, will make his professional debut with his next game played. The undrafted native of North Vancouver, British Columbia, accumulated 206 points (89g, 117a) in 273 games with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs over the last five seasons.
Last season, Aviani (5-foot-11, 195 pounds) set single-season career highs with 38 goals, 43 assists, 81 points and 116 penalty minutes. He ranked second on Spokane in goals, points and penalty minutes and finished fourth in assists.
Aviani, who signed an amateur tryout contract with AHL Utica last season but did not see game action, attended the Tampa Bay Lightning’s recent rookie camp and main training camp on a tryout basis. There, he reportedly made an impression on Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman.
“He said he liked how I played,” Aviani told the News-Press in Ft. Myers, FL, last week. “Then he said, ‘We’re not going to sign you because we don’t have room.’ He also said, ‘You’re neck and neck with the AHL guys.’ That was a good thing, a good booster for me.”
Aviani’s signing comes one day after the Carolina Hurricanes, beset by injuries at the forward position, recalled Checkers center Brody Sutter for the first time in his three professional seasons. Along with Ben Holmstrom, Sutter, who is in line to make his NHL debut against the New York Rangers on Thursday, was one of just two true centers the Checkers had at their disposal to start this season. With Victor Rask and Patrick Brown already in the NHL with Carolina, preferred wingers Greg Nemisz and Brendan Woods filled in down the middle for the Checkers’ first three games.
The addition of Aviani still leaves the Checkers with just 11 healthy forwards on their roster, as Justin Shugg is expected to miss this weekend’s games against the Grand Rapids Griffins due to injury. For those games, including Friday’s home opener at Time Warner Cable Arena, the Checkers could receive one player back from Carolina, add another from the ECHL ranks or dress seven defensemen to fill out their lineup.
