By Bruce Berlet

When Jeremy Williams finally realized his goal of playing in the NHL five years ago, he had Toronto Maple Leafs’ captain, 2006 Olympic gold medalist and future Hall of Famer Mats Sundin sitting beside him in the locker room.

“There’s not much of a better leader than that on or off the ice,” said Williams, who leads the Connecticut Whale in goals (21) and points (38) and will be the team’s representative in the AHL All-Star Classic. “Not in a negative aspect or because he was old (36), but he was always like a father figure, which was really weird. To the guys, he was that composed and that mature that you didn’t want to anger him or anything because you didn’t want him to be disappointed in you.”

Sundin, the first overall pick by the Quebec Nordiques in 1989 who retired in 2009, assisted on two of the first three NHL goals by Williams, who set a record by scoring in each of his first three games – in different seasons (2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08). In his one game with the Rangers against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 24, Williams’ only claim to fame in 3 1/2 minutes of ice time was getting two high-sticks to the chin on his first two shifts without a penalty being called.

“It was, ‘Welcome to New York,’ ” Williams said with a smile. “(But) I’ve been very fortunate, and I don’t know if it’s all luck or just in the right place at the right time.”

How about a laser shot that would make Al MacInnis, Zdeno Chara or former Whalers defenseman Chris Pronger proud? It also makes Williams a threat from almost anywhere, especially on a one-time from the point or the circle on the power play. Williams should be in the hardest shot event for the Eastern Conference in the AHL All-Star Classic skills competition Sunday night and could be a serious scoring threat in the usually high-scoring, no-hitting All-Star Game on Monday night at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa.

“His biggest asset is his shot and scoring touch, and he obviously has brought that (to the Whale),” coach Ken Gernander said. “He’s one of the league leaders in scoring goals, which will always make for an interesting type of player to watch in an All-Star type of environment.”

With as many as eight Whale players on recent call-ups to the Rangers, Williams also added some penalty killing to his repertoire. But he’s best known for his shot and has tried to help some of the Whale’s younger players, notably rookie Kelsey Tessier, about shooting the puck quickly.

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And accuracy is nothing new for Williams, who credited the trait to his early days playing hockey on a family farm in Glenavon, Saskatchewan, pop. 600, located about an hour outside Regina. Williams’ father, Kevin, made ice for Williams and his younger brother, Tristan, every winter, but it wasn’t exactly like Madison Square Garden.

“If you missed the net, there were no boards, so you’d better be hitting the net or we’d be searching for pucks in the snow,” Williams said with a wide smile. “My father would go out with the hose and spray it down for me and my younger brother. And if he didn’t have time to build a rink, he would clean off an area of farm water so it would freeze over. He would wait until he could drive on it with the tractor, push all the snow off and then spray it down with a little water.”

Williams said his game and how he acts in the locker room never really changes regardless of who’s on the team or on recall to the Rangers.

“I’ve always thought that everybody can talk,” Williams said, “but it’s more what you do on the ice is what the young guys and other guys on the ice are going to follow. I’m not saying I’m a great leader, but I try and help as much as I can. I try to talk to someone if I feel I can give advice. You can take it and listen to it and believe it, or you can take it and forget it. What you do with advice is up to you and whether or not you believe in it.”

Williams will be leaving for Hershey right after Saturday night’s game against the Atlantic Division-leading Portland Pirates, coached by former Hartford Whalers star and captain Kevin Dineen, another of the all-time best leaders in hockey history.

“It’s an honor to be named to an All-Star team,” Williams said, “especially on a team like ours with so many skilled, veteran forwards and some new, up-and-coming young guys. It must have been hard to choose one guy off our team just based on the amount of skill level we have.”

Williams was named a reserve on the Eastern Conference team by a panel of AHL coaches. At the time, he was tied for the league lead in goals with 20, and his 21 goals are now tied for fifth with former Wolf Pack wing Nigel Dawes, who is on recall to the Atlanta Thrashers. The Pirates’ Mark Mancari has vaulted to the goal-scoring lead with 27, seven coming in the last three games starting with back-to-back hat tricks. Wethersfield native Colin McDonald, son of former Whalers and New Haven Nighthawks defenseman Gerry McDonald, is second with a career-high 23, one more than Charlotte’s Jerome Samson and Oklahoma City’s Alexandre Giroux, the former Wolf Pack wing who is captain of the Western Conference team.

“I’m fairly happy with the way things have started,” said Williams, signed as a free agent by the Rangers on July 12 after setting career highs for goals (32) and points (63) last season with the Grand Rapids Griffins. “I’m pretty tough on myself. To me, I think I should have 35 goals already just based on the number of chances that I’ve had. For me, it’s just being reliable and making the right plays. Everybody is going to make mistakes – I make mistakes – but it’s limiting them and using brains over anything.”

Williams said he has benefited from playing with center Tim Kennedy, who has a pass-first, shoot-second philosophy that fits well with Williams.

“We have a little different styles,” Williams said. “I score goals just going up and down the ice, and Tim is a very skilled, shifty kind of guy. But the last few games, I feel we’ve really started clicking and understanding each other as players, so playing with him is really good, too.”

The Whale has been a bit topsy-turvy in Williams’ first season in Hartford, first because of so many new, young players, especially on defense, and more recently due to all the call-ups to the Rangers. That was epitomized by a nine-game winless streak that started a 1-9-2-1 drought from Oct. 20 to Nov. 17, that was immediately followed by a 12-1-0-2 surge that included winning streaks of six and four games and took the Whale all the way into second place in the Atlantic Division. The Whale (22-18-2-5) are now in third with 51 points, 10 behind leader Portland and nine back of second-place Manchester.

“We’ve been pretty good since that skid,” Williams said, “but I guess you’d rather have a nine-game losing streak at the start of the season rather than at the end, so that’s a positive that we learned from that. When a team is winning, everybody is just more confident and making better plays. Confidence is a huge part of winning and losing, and as long as you cannot get too high or get too low, it’s pretty good.”

Williams has certainly been pretty good in his first 47 games with the Wolf Pack/Whale and deserving of the All-Star notoriety.

Four players were added to the rosters Thursday. Forward Eric Tangradi and defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, both of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, joined the Eastern Conference roster, while Lake Erie Monsters forward Mark Olver and Texas Stars forward Francis Wathier were added to the Western Conference team. They replaced Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Dustin Jeffrey (personal), Portland’s Drew Schiestel (injury), Lake Erie’s Ryan Stoa (NHL recall) and Texas’s Travis Morin (NHL recall).

Williams’ first All-Star coaches will be Mark French and assistant Troy Mann, by virtue of the Hershey Bears winning the 2010 Calder Cup for the second consecutive year. Rookie head coaches John Hynes of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Jared Bednar of Peoria will be co-coaches of the Western Conference team because their teams had the best record in their conferences as of Jan. 16.

The AHL Hall of Fame Class of 2011, to be inducted Monday at 11 a.m., is Mitch Lamoureux, Larry Wilson and the late Harry Pidhirny and Maurice Podoloff, who grew up in New Haven, graduated from Hillhouse High School and Yale and became the first person to be president of two professional league simultaneously (AHL and then NBA). AHL Hall of Famer Bruce Boudreau, former coach of the Bears and now coach of the Washington Capitals, will be the keynote speaker, and AHL graduate and 2008 Foster Hewitt Award winner Mike Emrick will be master of ceremonies.

AHL Live (ahllive.com) will show the skills competition (3 p.m.) and All-Star Game (7 p.m.) live, and NHL Center Ice will have the All-Star Game live. NESN will show the skills competition live, but the All-Star Game will be delayed until Wednesday at 7 p.m. MSG Plus HD will show the skills competition at 5 p.m. Monday, followed by the All-Star Game live.

Emrick, the lead announcer for NHL games on NBC and Versus as well as the TV voice of the Devils, will handle the play-by-play alongside Craig Laughlin, former AHL and NHL wing and longtime commentator for Comcast SportsNet’s live game coverage of the Washington Capitals. Bears broadcaster John Walton will be the rink-side reporter for the All-Star Game and will do play-by-play on Skills Night, when he will be joined by former AHL player and coach and current Comcast SportsNet studio analyst Alan May and NESN’s John Chandler with rink-side interviews.

AHL Live is also offering a special two-day subscription package for live streaming of the All-Star Classic.

REINFORCED WHALE HOSTS ATLANTIC’S BEST

Williams and the rest of the Whale have been reinforced by the return of defenseman Michael Del Zotto and forwards Kris Newbury, Chad Kolarik, Evgeny Grachev and Brodie Dupont from the Rangers. With right wing Dale Weise rejoining the team on Monday and center Ryan Garlock back after missing a game and a practice with the flu, the Whale returned three wings to their ECHL teams – Bretton Cameron (Stockton), Chris Chappell (Greenville) and Tyler Donati (Elmira).

The Whale can use reinforcements, with the Atlantic Division’s top two teams, the Pirates and Monarchs, coming to town. The Pirates (28-13-4-1) overtook the Monarchs (28-16-1-3) for the division lead Sunday when they beat Worcester 6-5 in a shootout while the Monarchs were losing 2-1 in a shootout with the Bruins. The Pirates increased their lead to three points Tuesday night as Mancari, the reigning AHL Player of the Week, scored his 27^th goal in a 2-1 victory over the Norfolk Admirals. The Monarchs reciprocated with a 4-2 victory over the Admirals on Wednesday night as Marc-Andre Cliché, the Rangers’ second-round pick in 2005 who never played in the organization before being traded to Los Angeles as part of the Sean Avery deal, had two power-play goals and an assist.

The Whale is 1-4-0-1 against the Monarchs, losing three times in Manchester by one goal, once in a shootout. But they’ve also lost twice by three goals, including 3-0 at home on Jan. 2 when rookie Martin Jones made 39 saves for his first shutout of the season and former Yale forward David Meckler and Richard Clune helped set each other up in the third period. The Whale’s only victory was 5-1 on Dec. 11 when Mats Zuccarello scored twice, linemate Newbury had one goal and two assists and Chad Johnson made 23 saves. Zuccarello is on recall to the Rangers.

All-Star defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov leads the Monarchs’ balanced attack with nine goals and 25 assists, followed by left wing Bud Holloway (14, 19), center Oscar Moller (10, 20), left wing Dwight King (12, 15), centers Corey Elkins (13, 14), Justin Azevedo (12, 15) and Cliché (14, 12), and wings Brandon Kozun (10, 12) and Meckler (13, 8). Jones has had an excellent rookie season with a 16-5-0 record, 2.17 goals-against average, .930 save percentage and two shutouts. Jeff Zatkoff is 11-11-3, 3.13, .899 with no shutouts.

Hall of Fame defenseman Brad Park will make a special appearance Saturday night, when he will meet and greet fans and sign autographs before the game and then drop the ceremonial first puck before the Whale takes on the Pirates. Park also will play for the Bruins legends against the Whalers legends Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. at Rentschler Field in East Hartford before the Whale faces the Bruins at 7 p.m.

After playing the Pirates and having the brief All-Star break, the Whale’s four-game homestand ends Feb. 4 against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers before they have a home-and-home set with Portland on Feb. 5-6.

WHALERS AND BRUINS LEGENDS FACE OFF FEB. 19

Park and fellow Hall of Fame defensemen Brian Leetch, a Cheshire native, headline the Bruins legends team that will play in the opener of the doubleheader that’s part of the “Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest” on Feb. 11-23 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, where construction of the rink began Jan. 17 and snow removal will take place Monday. In case of bad weather, the Whale-Bruins game will be played Feb. 20 at the XL Center.

Other commitments for the Bruins team are Enfield native Craig Janney, former captain Rick Middleton, who played 12 seasons in Beantown and two with the Rangers, Reggie Lemelin, Ken Hodge, Don Marcotte, Rick Smith, Bob Sweeney, Lyndon Byers, Cleon Daskalakis, Jay Miller, Bob Miller (no relation) and Ken “The Rat” Linseman, who was a member of the Whalers for a few moments as he passed through in a multi-player trade with Philadelphia and Edmonton that included Mark Howe leaving Hartford for the Flyers. Derek Sanderson will coach the Bruins team.

Commitments for the Whalers team are WHA Hall of Famer Andre Lacroix, John McKenzie, whose No. 19 is retired in the XL Center rafters, Blaine Stoughton, John Anderson, Garry Swain, Bob Crawford, Chris Kotsopoulos, Jim Dorey, Jordy Douglas, Ray Neufeld, Gordie Roberts, Darren Turcotte, Nelson Emerson, Mark Janssens, Bill Bennett, Jeff Brubaker, Fred O’Donnell, Terry Yake, Scott Daniels and the Babych brothers, Dave and Wayne. Emile “The Cat” Francis, a coach and general manager with the Rangers and Whalers, will be back behind the bench again, and Norm Barnes and former captain Russ Anderson will be assistant coaches.

Celebrities scheduled to play with one of the legends teams include Michael Keaton, Alan Thicke and David E. Kelley, son of New England and Hartford Whalers coach and general manager Jack Kelley and the writer of the 1999 hit film “Mystery, Alaska,” which was produced by Whalers Sports and Entertainment president and CEO Howard Baldwin and his wife, Karen. “Mystery, Alaska” cast members slated to appear are Michael Buie, Scott Richard Grimes, Jason Gray-Stanford and Cameron Bancroft, along with Neal McDonough, Kevin Zegers and the Hanson brothers – Steve, Jeff and Dave –  who were the comedic linchpins of the classic movie “Slap Shot.”

Tickets ($20 to $85) for the doubleheader can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com and the Bushnell box office in Hartford on Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. or by calling the Whale at 860-728-3366. They also can be purchased online and printed immediately at Ticketmaster.com.

STRONG FINISH FOR KINGS’ QUICK

Hamden native Jonathan Quick capped the end of a terrific first half of the NHL season on Wednesday night, making 22 saves in regulation and overtime and then stopping all four shots in a shootout as the Los Angeles Kings rallied for a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks. The Kings got to extra time on Alexei Ponikarovsky’s goal at 5:47 of the third period, then Quick was perfect as he won his third consecutive game to improve to 22-14-1 with a 2.15 goals-against average, third in the NHL, .920 save percentage and five shutouts, third in the league.

“We knew going into the third period that we had to go out there and leave it on the ice,” said Quick, the former Avon Old Farms and UMass star who is 5-0 in shootouts this season. “We had nothing to save. … It was a real tight game and every play mattered. There were a lot of big hits and physical play around the net and in the corners, and you did get the feeling of a playoff game. The crowd was really into it, but in the playoffs, you don’t get the shootout.”

The Kings had lost seven of their past 10 home games, but Quick’s goaltending and Jarret Stoll’s second shootout-winning goal of the season enabled them to snap the Pacific Division rival Sharks’ four-game winning streak. It was the Kings’ final home game until Feb. 24, as they will travel all over North America while the Staples Center is occupied by the Grammys and the NBA’s All-Star weekend. … Rookie forward Marc-Olivier Vallerand and defenseman Blake Parlett, who were in Whale camp this fall before being assigned to the Greenville Road Warriors, played major roles as the ECHL All-Stars routed the Bakersfield Condors 9-3 in the ECHL All-Star Game on Wednesday night in Bakersfield, Calif. Vallerand tied for the highest point total on the team with a goal and two assists, while Parlett had the best plus/minus at plus-4. Stockton Thunder rookie forward Mark Arcobello of Milford and Yale University scored three goals and was named MVP. Greenville coach Dean Stork coached the All-Stars, and Road Warriors president and general manager Neil Smith, former GM of the Rangers, did color commentary on the TV broadcast.

HARTFORD, January 27, 2011: Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Whale has returned forwards Bretton Cameron, Chris Chappell and Tyler Donati to their respective ECHL teams.

Cameron, a rookie who registered one assist, two penalty minutes and a +2 with the Whale in two games, his first career AHL action, was released from his Professional Tryout (PTO) agreement and will return to the Stockton Thunder. Chappell, who was reassigned by the parent New York Rangers to the Greenville Road Warriors, was scoreless in five games with the Whale. Donati was returned on loan to the Elmira Jackals, after playing one game with the Whale since being recalled from the Jackals Monday. Donati had no points or penalty minutes in Tuesday’s 4-2 Whale loss to Providence and in total on the year, has played in nine Whale games and is scoreless, with no penalty minutes and nine shots on goal.

The Whale are back in home-ice action at the XL Center tomorrow night, Friday, January 28, against the Manchester Monarchs. Faceoff is 7:00 PM, and being a Friday night, it’s 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.

The Whale also play at home this Saturday, January 29 vs. Head Coach Kevin Dineen and the Portland Pirates. That is also a 7:00 faceoff, and features a special appearance by Hall of Fame ex-NHL defenseman Brad Park, who will be signing autographs in the XL Center atrium from 6:00-7:00 PM and dropping a ceremonial first puck. Park is also slated to be among the Boston Bruins legends who take the ice against Whalers legends February 19 at Rentschler Field in the Harvest-Properties.com “Whale Bowl”.

Tickets for all 2010-11 Whale home games are available now at the XL Center ticket 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.

HARTFORD, January 27, 2011:  Whalers Sports & Entertainment announced today that former Hartford Whalers and 1986 NHL All Stars Mark Howe and Brian Propp, and ex-Whaler Alan Hangsleben, will be appearing at the Connecticut Whale’s home game Friday, February 4 at the XL Center, a GEICO Connecticut Cup matchup with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

The three former pro stars will be conducting a private, exclusive “meet and greet” reception with Whale season ticket-holders, and “Outdoor Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest 2011” festival ticket-purchasers, before the game, from 4:30-6:30 PM at the XL Center.  (Invited guests will be contacted late this week and will need to RSVP for the event.)

Propp, Howe and Hangsleben will then drop a ceremonial first puck before the 7:00 faceoff between the Whale and Sound Tigers.  Hangsleben will also be signing autographs in the XL Center atrium during the second intermission, alongside selected Whale players.

February 4 marks the 25^th anniversary of the 1986 NHL All-Star Game, which was played at the Hartford Civic Center and saw the Wales Conference defeat the Campbell Conference, 4-3 in overtime.  Propp and Howe, who were then with the Philadelphia Flyers, both played for the victorious Wales Conference in that game, and Propp scored the Wales’ first goal, which tied the game at one at 17:56 of the second period.

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Howe, the son of all-time great, and fellow former Whaler, Gordie Howe, played 929 NHL games, and another 426 in the WHA, in a 22-year pro career that spanned from the 1973-74 season through 1994-95.  Playing both forward and defense, Howe was a three-time First-Team NHL All-Star selection and the 1986 game was one of four NHL All-Star games in which he participated.  His NHL totals were 197 goals and 545 assists for 742 points, along with 455 penalty minutes, in 929 games with the Whalers, Philadelphia and Detroit.

In the WHA, after winning an AVCO Cup with the Houston Aeros in 1975, Howe, along with Gordie and brother Marty, joined the New England Whalers for the 1977-78 season.  Mark Howe remained with the Whalers for their final two seasons in the WHA, and the franchise’s first three NHL campaigns, before being traded to the Flyers in August of 1982.  In 213 career NHL games with Hartford, Howe amassed 51 goals and 147 assists for 198 points and had 92 penalty minutes.  In 147 total WHA games with the Whalers, he scored 72 goals and added 126 assists for 198 points and served 64 minutes in penalties.

Propp finished off a 15-year NHL career with 65 games in a Hartford Whaler uniform in 1993-94, scoring 12 goals and adding 17 assists for 29 points, and totaling 44 penalty minutes.  Prior to that the 1979 Flyer first-round pick (14^th overall) spent 11 full seasons, and part of a 12^th, in the City of Brotherly Love, and also saw time with the Boston Bruins and Minnesota North Stars.  A native of Lanigan, Saskatchewan, Propp skated in a career total of 1,016 NHL matches, scoring 425 goals and adding 578 assists for 1003 points and serving 830 PIM.  The 1986 All-Star Game was one of five career All-Star game appearances for Propp, who also went to the Stanley Cup Finals five times (1980, 1985 and 1987 with Philadelphia, 1990 with Boston and 1991 with Minnesota) during his 15 NHL years.

Hangsleben, a defenseman born in Warroad, Minnesota, broke into pro hockey in 1974-75 after three years at the University of North Dakota, and suited up for 26 WHA games with the Whalers that season.  He would stay with the Whalers for the remainder of their WHA existence, logging 334 games-played, the sixth-most in franchise history, and registering 36 goals and 73 assists for 109 points, along with 437 PIM.  Hangsleben made the transition to the NHL with the Whalers in 1979-80 and played 37 games with Hartford that season, before being traded to the Washington Capitals in January of 1980.

Hangsleben’s NHL career would continue through the 1981-82 season and include a stint with the Los Angeles Kings in addition to his time with Washington.  All told, Hangsleben suited up for 185 career NHL contests, scoring 21 goals and adding 48 assists for 69 points and totaling 396 penalty minutes.

RSVPs will be sent via the CT Whale ticket office soon.

Tickets for the February 4 game, and all 2010-11 Whale home games, are available now at the XL Center ticket 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.

By Bruce Berlet

HARTFORD, Conn. – As his new/old Connecticut Whale teammates worked out after practice early Wednesday afternoon, Kris Newbury played equipment man/delivery boy, helping the equipment staff bring the four bags of gear he had transported from New York into the XL Center locker room.

Newbury was heartily greeted by several of his new/old mates, including Dale Weise, his roommate while the two were together with the New York Rangers for three weeks.

“I missed you, bud,” Weise said with a wide smile. “I was getting lonely.”

Weise jokingly referred to having been reassigned to the Whale on Sunday, two days before the “Fab Five” of Newbury, fellow forwards Chad Kolarik, Evgeny Grachev and Brodie Dupont and defenseman Michael Del Zotto were sent down.

“It was strange,” Newbury said between handshakes. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been called up with that many guys from an American Hockey League team. But it was good to see us win some games with all these guys in the lineup playing in the NHL. We’ll take that as positives and just roll on from here.”

Newbury, Kolarik, Grachev, Dupont and Del Zotto were given Wednesday off after the Rangers played five games in seven nights, including Monday and Tuesday, before the NHL All-Star break.

Besides the “Fab Five” and Weise, center Ryan Garlock could be back after missing a tough-to-swallow 4-2 loss to the Providence Bruins on Tuesday night and practice Wednesday because of the flu. And with six players returning, other roster moves may be in the offing.

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Whale coach Ken Gernander said he hadn’t had a chance to talk to Rangers officials as far as what’s going to transpire coming out of the All-Star break and what their injury status is.  Gernander and assistants J.J. Daigneault and Pat Boller will have to determine the lines and defensive pairings for Friday night’s game at the XL Center against the Manchester Monarchs.

“It’s hard to say what I’m going to do,” Gernander said. “They’ve all played together in some way, shape or form. Weise has played with Newbury, Dupont has played with (Tim) Kennedy, Brodie has played with all of them, Grachev has been through there, so we just have to put them together.

“If they performed well (in New York) and think they’re right on the doorstep (to the NHL), then this is the place to give it that little extra push and make sure that we don’t take any back steps.”

The only Whale call-ups still in New York are forward Mats Zuccarello, summoned Dec. 22, and rookie defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who changed places with Del Zotto on Jan. 3. The others were sent back because the Whale hosts two more key Atlantic Division games before the AHL All-Star Classic on Sunday and Monday in Hershey, Pa., where right wing Jeremy Williams will be the team’s lone representative. The second-place Monarchs will be followed by the division-leading Portland Pirates, coached by former Hartford Whalers star and captain Kevin Dineen, on Saturday night.

After the Rangers’ 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, coach John Tortorella said one or more of the reassigned players would rejoin the Rangers for their first game after the break, Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, who have been missing NHL scoring leader Sidney Crosby with a concussion that will keep him out of the All-Star Game.

“It was a good experience for all of us,” said Newbury, who averaged 81/2 minutes in seven games while playing some regular shifts and helping with the penalty killing. “We all knew that we’d most like come down during the break, so it’s not much of a shock. (Tortorella) was happy with what we all did and said just to keep working hard, play our game and with the injuries they have you never know, so be sharp.”

The Rangers have lost a staggering 193 man-games to injury this season compared to only 78 all of last season, and wing Alex Frolov (injured knee on Jan. 8) is out for the season and enforcer Derek Boogaard (injured shoulder on Dec. 9, concussion) might be as well. Former Wolf Pack right wing Ryan Calhoun and defenseman Dan Girardi (rib cage on Jan. 22) likely will be back for the Penguins game, and forward Vinny Prospal might be close behind. Callahan and Prospal were activated from injured reserve Tuesday night, and Girardi is expected to recover from a rib-cage muscle injury that sidelined him the last two games.

Callahan has missed 19 games since sustaining a broken hand when he blocked a shot by Penguins defenseman Kris Letang on Dec. 15, and Prospal has been out all season with an ailing knee that was operated on in the offseason and again on Oct. 18. Former Wolf Pack forward Brandon Dubinsky (stress fracture in leg), the team’s leading scorer, wing Ruslan Fedotenko (separated shoulder on Jan. 19) and center Erik Christensen (sprained knee on Dec. 29) are also out. Earlier in the season, sniper Marian Gaborik and captain/Trumbull native Chris Drury were out long-term.

Even if Prospal can’t play Tuesday since he has yet to participate in one contact drill, the Rangers will need to make a recall after the break, with Newbury considered the likely choice because of his experience and having played previously in the NHL with Toronto and Detroit. Kolarik averaged 8:22 in his first four games with the Rangers, Grachev about 71/2 minutes and Dupont played 5:34 in his only NHL game.

“They need to go play,” Tortorella told the media after the game Tuesday night. “(Going down) is not a negative on any of them. I just met with them, and for me, it has been rewarding to see them play through the situation that we have with injuries. It just enhances some of the things that we have here that will improve and eventually help this club. That could be maybe longer term for some guys, maybe shorter term for some guys.”

The contributions of the Whale call-ups are typical of what the injury-ravaged but resilient Rangers have accomplished.

“Our way of succeeding is everybody has chipped in,” Tortorella said. “Everybody contributes, and I think that’s what brings our team together. There’s no one guy who carries us, and I think everybody feels good about that.”

But with more contributions comes more expectations.

“They need to accept the responsibility that when they get to a level of play at a pretty consistent manner, they have to continue to stay there and also get better,” Tortorella said. “I think that’s what happened with a number of our young guys, and Brian (Boyle) is leading the way as he continues to try to get better.

“That’s what I like about the club. The foundation continues to mature and continues to try to get better. They’ve got the right attitude as far as trying to get better each and every night.”

Newbury said that was the message that Tortorella relayed before the “Fab Five” departed for Hartford.

“I’m just going to work hard, have a two good games and see what happens,” said Newbury, who played alongside Drury and Weise, Kolarik, Grachev or Dupont. “Obviously my ultimate goal is to play in the NHL, so whatever it takes, I’m willing to do.”

Every player’s ultimate goal is the NHL, which means not slacking off while back in the AHL is paramount.

“I don’t think it’ll be any easier,” Gernander said, alluding to getting five of his best players back. “The onus is still on them to work their hardest. No one can say, ‘Oh, these guys are back, so let’s put it into neutral or third gear or what have you.’ It can’t be any easier.”

Especially after the Whale had four consecutive penalties early in the third period that helped the Bruins to a 13-4 shot advantage and Maxime Sauve’s two power-play goals that enabled them to pull out the win. The Whale had been 13-0-0-2 when leading after two periods and could have opened a nine-point lead on the fifth-place Bruins. Instead, it’s down to five points and the Bruins have two games in hand.

One player not likely to rejoin the Whale is Zuccarello, who assisted on all three Rangers coach Tuesday night and has three goals and eight assists in his first 17 NHL games. The leading scorer and MVP in the Swedish Elite League last season with Modo is also 4-on-4 on shootout attempts, including two winners.

“He made some really good plays (Tuesday night) as far as passing on some plays that I don’t think some guys would see,” Tortorella said. “He’s REALLY concentrating on the defensive part of the game, and you can talk about his shootouts. He has brought a lot to the club, and he continues to improve. And again, the thing I love about him is he thinks he belongs here. He knows he’s a good player. That’s a pretty refreshing attitude to see in a guy from another country (Norway).

“There are so many things as far as injuries that I don’t want to get too far ahead, but (Zuccarello) is not going down with those other guys. He has played a lot of hockey for us, so he has earned the break here. So we’ll make our decisions as we see who’s healthy when we get back (for a 2 p.m. practice Monday).”

Yes, there are no confidence issues with Zuccarello, whom veteran New York Post writer/columnist Larry Brooks calls “Mats the Magnificent.” As in Hartford, the 5-foot-7, 177-pound Zuccarello nicknamed the “Norwegian Hobbit” has become a fan favorite on Broadway.

“It’s a big honor to be picked by the coach for a shootout, but there’s a little pressure because you’re trying to succeed for 20 guys,” Zuccarello said after continuing to bat 1.000 in the one-on-one skills competition. “I know a lot of other guys would like to have the honor of being picked, so it is a big responsibility for me to come through for my teammates.”

Zuccarello has played 17 games with the Rangers and is the senior member of the young Whale contingent promoted in the last few weeks. But Zuccarello hasn’t allowed his recent success to go to his head.

“You always have to be reminded of how to play,” he said. “You can’t be here for (17) games and think you have it all learned. You have to learn every day so you can do your job helping your teammates. They are counting on me like I count on them. It’s a trust issue. If everyone knows their job, you have confidence. If you don’t, then it’s tough to be trusted. I want to be in that position where I am trusted.”

So far Zuccarello has been the most trusted of the eight call-ups from the Whale.

The returning player to the Whale of greatest interest in New York is Del Zotto, the Rangers’ first-round pick (20^th overall) in 2008 who was a member of the NHL all-rookie team last season but struggled much of this season before changing places with rookie defenseman Ryan McDonagh on Jan. 3.

Del Zotto, 20, was sent to the Whale to get more ice time and hopefully improve his overall game, especially his decision-making, physicality and consistency. His recall was necessitated by Girardi’s injury, but Tortorella wants him to continue to play 25-30 minutes with the Whale as he did while getting seven assists in eight games.

Del Zotto returns to Hartford with encouraging words from Tortorella.

“Michael played well,” Tortorella said twice. “I’ve liked the way he’s handled himself off the ice, and he has stayed within himself on the ice. There were some mistakes, but everybody makes mistakes. He’s going through the process, and I think it’s good for me. Eventually he’ll get it the right way.”

Del Zotto realizes he has to continue to improve his preparation, physicality and attention to detail.

“The most important thing for me is to make the most of (time in the AHL) and play my game to the best of my ability to earn my way back up,” he said. “I’ve been playing about 30 minutes a night in all situations (in Hartford), and I’m starting to get confident and comfortable with my game again.

“It’s a lot different down there. There’s a lot to get used to mentally. As far as the hockey, I’ve been working on my defensive game and letting the game come to me. I have to simplify my game and not force it. You’re not going to always make something happen.”

HOMESTAND CONTINUES FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHTS

The Whale can use reinforcements, with the division’s top two teams coming to town. The Pirates (28-13-4-1) overtook Manchester (27-16-1-3) for the division lead Sunday when they beat Worcester 6-5 in a shootout while the Monarchs were losing 2-1 in a shootout to the Bruins. The Pirates increased their lead to three points Tuesday night as AHL Player of the Week Mark Mancari scored his 27^th goal, seventh in the last three games, in a 2-1 victory over the Norfolk Admirals.

The Whale is 1-4-0-1 against the Monarchs, losing three times in Manchester by one goal, once in a shootout. But they’ve also lost twice by three goals, including 3-0 at home on Jan. 2 when rookie Martin Jones made 39 saves for his first shutout of the season and former Yale forward David Meckler and Richard Clune helped set each other up in the third period. The Whale’s only victory was 5-1 on Dec. 11 when Zuccarello scored twice, linemate Newbury had one goal and two assists and Chad Johnson made 23 saves.

Left wing Bud Holloway leads the Monarchs’ balanced attack with 14 goals and 19 assists, followed by All-Star defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov (9, 23), center Oscar Moller (9, 19), left wing Dwight King (12, 15), centers Justin Azevedo (12, 15) and Corey Elkins (12, 14) and Meckler (13, 8). Jones has had an excellent rookie season with a 16-5-0 record, 2.17 goals-against average, .930 save percentage and two shutouts. Jeff Zatkoff is 10-11-3, 3.18, .897 with no shutouts.

Hall of Fame defenseman Brad Park will make a special appearance Saturday night, when he will meet and greet fans and sign autographs before the game and then drop the ceremonial first puck before the Whale takes on the Pirates. Park also will play for the Bruins legends against the Whalers legends Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. at Rentschler Field in East Hartford before the Whale faces the Bruins at 7 p.m.

After the All-Star break, the homestand ends Feb. 4 against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers before the Whale has a home-and-home set with Portland on Feb. 5-6.

WHALERS AND BRUINS LEGENDS FACE OFF FEB. 19

Park and fellow Hall of Fame defensemen Brian Leetch, a Cheshire native, headline the Bruins legends team that will play in the opener of the doubleheader that’s part of the “Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest” on Feb. 11-23 at Rentschler Field, where construction of the rink began Jan. 17 and snow removal will take place Monday. In case of bad weather, the Whale-Bruins game will be played Feb. 20 at the XL Center.

Other commitments for the Bruins team are Enfield native Craig Janney, former captain Rick Middleton, who played 12 seasons in Beantown and two with the Rangers, Reggie Lemelin, Ken Hodge, Don Marcotte, Rick Smith, Bob Sweeney, Lyndon Byers, Cleon Daskalakis, Jay Miller, Bob Miller (no relation) and Ken “The Rat” Linseman, who was a member of the Whalers for a few moments as he passed through in a multi-player trade with Philadelphia and Edmonton that included Mark Howe leaving Hartford for the Flyers. Derek Sanderson will coach the Bruins team.

Commitments for the Whalers team are WHA Hall of Famer Andre Lacroix, John McKenzie, whose No. 19 is retired in the XL Center rafters, Blaine Stoughton, John Anderson, Garry Swain, Bob Crawford, Chris Kotsopoulos, Jim Dorey, Jordy Douglas, Ray Neufeld, Gordie Roberts, Darren Turcotte, Nelson Emerson, Mark Janssens, Bill Bennett, Jeff Brubaker, Fred O’Donnell, Terry Yake, Scott Daniels and the Babych brothers, Dave and Wayne. Emile “The Cat” Francis, a coach and general manager with the Rangers and Whalers, will be back behind the bench again, and Norm Barnes and former captain Russ Anderson will be assistant coaches.

Celebrities scheduled to play with one of the legends teams include Michael Keaton, Alan Thicke and David E. Kelley, son of New England and Hartford Whalers coach and general manager Jack Kelley and the writer of the 1999 hit film “Mystery, Alaska,” which was produced by Whalers Sports and Entertainment president and CEO Howard Baldwin and his wife, Karen. “Mystery, Alaska” cast members slated to appear are Michael Buie, Scott Richard Grimes, Jason Gray-Stanford and Cameron Bancroft, along with Neal McDonough, Kevin Zegers and the Hanson brothers – Steve, Jeff and Dave –  who were the comedic linchpins of the classic movie “Slap Shot.”

Tickets ($20 to $85) for the doubleheader can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com and the Bushnell box office in Hartford on Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. or by calling the Whale at 860-728-3366. They also can be purchased online and printed immediately at Ticketmaster.com. … Former Wolf Pack win Chad Wiseman scored with 1:33 left as the Albany Devils rallied for a 6-4 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Tuesday night. The Sound Tigers took a 2-0 lead, allowed the next four goals and then scored twice to tie it before Rob Davison’s shot toward the left corner deflected off Wiseman’s body and past Mikko Koskinen for a 5-4 lead. Stephen Gionta added an empty-net goal with 24 seconds. Koskinen made 28 saves but lost his seventh consecutive game.

HARTFORD, January 26, 2011:  Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the parent New York Rangers have returned forwards Brodie Dupont, Evgeny Grachev, Chad Kolarik and Kris Newbury, as well as defenseman Michael Del Zotto, to the Whale.

Dupont was scoreless in one game, his NHL debut January 22 at Atlanta, for the Rangers, after receiving his first career NHL recall from New York last Wednesday, January 19.  In 40 games with the Whale this season, the fourth-year pro has registered eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points, along with 54 penalty minutes.

Grachev, recalled Saturday by the Rangers, has skated in eight NHL games this year with New York and has no points or penalty minutes.  In 40 games with the Whale, Grachev has 12 goals, fourth-most on the team, and six assists for 18 points.

Kolarik received his first Ranger recall last Wednesday, January 19 and had one assist and two penalty minutes in four games with the parent club.  Since being acquired by New York in a trade with Columbus November 11, Kolarik has 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points in 26 games with the Whale, and in AHL action between Connecticut and Springfield, the former University of Michigan Wolverine has 17 goals, second on the Whale team, and 16 assists for 33 points in 39 games.

Newbury, an eighth-year pro, played seven games in his first stint with the Rangers after being recalled January 9.  He had one assist and 33 PIM in those seven games, and is the Whale’s second-leading point-getter on the year, with five goals and a team-best 30 assists for 35 points in 41 games.

Del Zotto was scoreless with five shots on goal in two games with the Rangers, after being recalled from the Whale along with Grachev on Saturday.  On the year Del Zotto has totaled 37 NHL games-played, with two goals and seven assists for nine points, along with 14 penalty minutes.  In eight games with the Whale since his initial assignment January 3, Del Zotto has seven assists and eight PIM.

The Whale are back in home-ice action at the XL Center this Friday, January 28 against the Manchester Monarchs.  Faceoff is 7:00 PM, and being a Friday night, it’s 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.

The Whale also play at home this Saturday, January 29 vs. Head Coach Kevin Dineen and the Portland Pirates.  That is also a 7:00 faceoff, and features a special appearance by Hall of Fame ex-NHL defenseman Brad Park, who will be signing autographs in the XL Center atrium from 6:00-7:00 PM and dropping a ceremonial first puck.  Park is also slated to be among the Boston Bruins legends who take the ice against Whalers legends February 19 at Rentschler Field in the Harvest-Properties.com “Whale Bowl”.

Tickets for all 2010-11 Whale home games are available now at the XL Center ticket 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.

Hartford, CT …  Whalers Sports and Entertainment announced today that Connecticut native Craig Janney will join the roster of featured players for the Hartford Whalers legends vs. Boston Bruins legends game February 19, 2011 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.

The legends game comprises part of the “Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl,” the featured event of the two-week outdoor Whalers Hockey Fest spectacular at Rentschler Field that will include numerous collegiate, high school, prep school and youth hockey games.  The legends game will face off at 4:00 PM on February 19 and will be followed by the outdoor AHL game between the Connecticut Whale and the Providence Bruins at 7:00 PM.

Janney, a center who was born in Hartford, played five seasons with the Bruins from 1987-1992, skating in 262 contests and scoring 85 goals and adding 198 assists for 283 points.  He led the Bruin club in assists in his first full season with the team, 1988-89, with 46 in 62 games, and his 92 points in 1990-91 were second-best on the squad to Ray Bourque’s 94.

Prior to entering the NHL, Janney played two seasons for the Boston College Eagles, where he led the 1986-87 Hockey East Championship team in points with 83 (28-55-83) in 37 games.

The 13^th overall selection in the 1986 NHL Draft by the Bruins, Janney later went on to skate for the United States Olympic Team in the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, tallying six points in five games. He later averaged nearly a point a game during a 12-year NHL career spanning 1987-99, playing in 760 games for the Bruins, St. Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks, Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders. Janney totaled 188 goals and 563 assists for 751 points in the NHL.

Janney led the Blues in scoring in 1992-93 with 106 points (24-82-106) and the Sharks in 1995-96 with 62 points (13-49-62).

After his playing career, Janney briefly coached the Lubbock Cotton Kings of the CHL during the 2006-07 season and also has been featured on NESN as part of its coverage of Hockey East college games.

Tickets for the February 19 Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl, which include admission to both the AHL game and the legends game, are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com., as well as at the Bushnell box office from Monday through Friday, 12 noon-5:00 PM.  Ticket prices range from $20 to $85 and can also be purchased by calling the Connecticut Whale at 860-728-3366.  Tickets purchased online can be printed immediately (via Ticketmaster).

By Bruce Berlet

HARTFORD, Conn. – Maxime Sauve provided the decisive offensive punch for the Providence Bruins in a 4-2 victory over the Connecticut Whale Tuesday night at the XL Center.

Sauve scored two power-play goals off rebounds in a three-goal third period that rallied the Bruins from trailing 2-1 after the second period.

Sauve also had two goals in the Bruins’ 3-2 victory at the XL Center on Jan. 15.

“It’s becoming a nice place to play and get some goals,” Sauve said. “I just try to play the game simple and put the puck on the net. I kept my feet moving, rushed the net, played hard and found the puck.”

The Whale (22-18-2-5) seemingly had control through 40 minutes before four penalties led to Sauve having four of his 12 goals in the last two meetings with their Atlantic Division rival.

“That’s the way it was going,” Whale coach Ken Gernander said of the calls. “We had some power plays in the second period and capitalized, and (referees Jamie Koharski and Tim Mayer) are going to look to maybe make amends. But if you keep your stick on the ice and your feet moving, you should be all right.

“But when you feel you’re on the defensive and flat-footed, there are going to be opportunities where you’re going to put yourself in a compromising position and possibly take a penalty. They were playing the whole third period in the offensive zone and could be aggressive.”

Consecutive penalties on Stu Bickel (interference), Jared Nightingale (boarding) and newcomer Bretton Cameron (tripping) in the opening 7:34 of the third period and a slashing call on Tessier that offset a hooking penalty on Colby Cohen led to Sauve’s two power-play goals as the Bruins amassed a 13-4 shot advantage in less than 11 minutes.

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Jeremy Reich’s empty-net goal with 1:04 left assured the Whale would lose their first game in regulation (13-1-0-2) when leading after two periods. Meanwhile, the Bruins (21-20-3-1) won for only the third time when trailing after 40 minutes (3-17-2-0). It wasn’t the way the Whale wanted to begin a key four-game homestand against division foes that they’re fighting for playoff spots and position.

The Whale lost the lead despite the return of right wing Dale Weise, playing his first game at the XL Center since Dec. 29, when he was called up by the Rangers for the second time this season. He was scoreless in eight games while averaging 61/2 minutes in New York, but he scored twice Tuesday night while playing 241/2 minutes and felt he could have played another 10.

Sauve’s winner came when he converted Cohen’s rebound with 9:37 left. That came 12 seconds after Nolan Schaefer (27 saves) made a strong stop on Weise’s backhander from 15 feet in the slot.

Weise said he had “a little hop in my step” but didn’t feel it was “a statement game” He said it took a few shifts to get into a rhythm and was the beneficiary of two brilliant set-ups by Tim Kennedy and All-Star right wing Jeremy Williams.

“I believe in myself and feel I can play, and I’m just down here to try to help the team win,” said Weise, who had a game-high seven shots and now has nine goals in 17 games with the Whale. “I’m not trying to send a message to anyone. I play with a chip on my shoulder, and both passes were great passes.”

But the penalties were most on Weise’s mind.

“I’ve been kind of checking up on the team lately, and even when I was here before, penalties are what were hurting us,” said Weise, who was on a line with Kennedy and Jason Williams and scored his first goals since Dec. 21. “We take a couple that are completely unnecessary, and they come back to bite you, and that’s usually what happens. I thought we were in full control of that game, and then we took some penalties, they scored on the power play and we just gave up two points.

“If you’re up in a 2-1 game, you can’t afford to take penalties in the third period. Power plays are the biggest momentum swings you have in games. We get a big (penalty) kill and all of a sudden we start rolling, and they score a couple and they get rolling.”

The Whale started strong with six of the first seven shots, but Bruins came closest to scoring when Zach Hamill hit the left post at 7:18 while on a power play. Just 40 seconds later, Schaefer, coming off a 41-save effort in a 2-1 shootout victory over Manchester on Sunday, stopped Jason Williams’ backhander on breakaway off a deft lead pass by Jeremy Williams.

The Whale got fortunate again with 6:20 left in the period when Kirk MacDonald hit the post, then on the ensuing rush, Chad Johnson (31 saves) denied Jeremy Reich from 15 feet in the slot.

Schaefer flicked out his right pad to stop Nightingale’s right point shot with 5:24 left, and the Bruins then took the lead when MacDonald raced down the left wing and slipped his own rebound between Johnson’s legs with 2:55 to go. Lane MacDermid, son of former Hartford Whalers right wing Paul MacDermid, set the scoring play in motion when he forced a turnover in the neutral zone.

Johnson kept it a one-goal game when he stopped Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman on a 3-on-2 with 1:22 left, and Kennedy set the table for the tying play when he made a brilliant backhand pass from the right circle, through the slot to the left circle to Weise, who fired a one-timer on which Schaefer had no chance at 3:01.

The Whale took their only lead on their second power play as Weise got inside Cohen and deflected in Jason Williams’ centering pass from the left circle at 7:20.

After Johnson stopped Sauve’s partial breakaway at 5:28 thanks to help from defenseman Wade Redden’s hustling backcheck, Sauve converted the rebound of Cohen’s one-time shot from the left point to tie it at 6:16. Schaefer kept it even when he stopped Weise’s backhander with 9:47 left, and on the ensuing rush, Sauve got the winner when he put in Scott Arniel’s rebound 12 seconds later.

Weise nearly tied the score with 8:16 left, but Reich iced it three seconds after Johnson went to the bench for a sixth attacker.

“When we get up a goal, the best thing is to just keep getting the puck deep and keep forechecking,” Redden said. “I think sometimes you try to make plays, and if you turn the puck over, it’s coming back at us and then we’re in a position where we have to hook a guy or take penalties. I don’t think you can just say it’s penalties because there are plays that lead up to them that puts us in a bad position. So we have to play smarter.”

THREE RETURN, GARLOCK OUT AND FIVE COMING BACK FROM RANGERS

Besides Weise, center Todd White returned from the injured list and left wing Tyler Donati from the ECHL.

And after the Rangers’ 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers at Madison Square Garden, Rangers president and general manager Glen Sather announced forward Vinny Prospal and former Hartford Wolf Pack wing Ryan Callahan had been activated from injured reserve and would be eligible to play Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first game after the NHL All-Star break.

It was also announced that defenseman Michael Del Zotto and forwards Chad Kolarik, Evgeny Grachev, Kris Newbury and Brodie Dupont had been reassigned to the Whale.

White, who had missed four games with an injury sustained in a 3-0 loss at Portland on Jan. 14, skated between Devin DiDiomete and Cameron, playing his second game since signing a professional tryout contract on Friday. The Whale needed White because Ryan Garlock missed only his second game of the season with the flu, and wing Chris McKelvie was recovering from successful surgery at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford on Monday to repair a sliced toe sustained in the second period of a 5-1 victory over the Springfield Falcons on Saturday night. That was McKelvie’s second game since being called up from Greenville of the ECHL on Thursday.

“I was battling for the puck behind the net and someone just stepped on my foot,” said McKelvie, who was at the game on crutches. “I went back to the bench and asked for new laces and then looked down, saw blood and knew I needed something more than laces.”

With McKelvie out, Donati was recalled from the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL and played on a line with center Oren Eizenman and Chris Chappell, recalled from Greenville of the ECHL on Jan. 11. Donati signed an AHL contract with the Wolf Pack on Oct. 21 and was scoreless in eight games before being loaned to Elmira on Nov. 30. He had 10 goals and 11 assists in 17 games with the Jackals. Last season, Donati was the ECHL’s leading scorer and MVP with 38 goals and 76 in 67 games.

Besides Garlock and McKelvie, the Whale scratched goalie Cameron Talbot, expected to be out until after AHL All-Star Classic on Sunday and Monday in Hershey, Pa. He sustained a high ankle sprain at Portland on Jan. 14, and Pier-Olivier Pelletier was signed from Laredo of the CHL on Wednesday to back up Johnson. The Bruins scratched left wing Antoine Roussel and defenseman Sean Zimmerman.

BALDWIN SPEAKS WEDNESDAY NIGHT

Whalers Sports and Entertainment chairman and CEO Howard Baldwin will be speaking to the UConn Sport Business Association Wednesday night at the Student Union Theatre from 7-8:30 p.m.

Baldwin will be speaking about his past in the sport industry, as well as the past, present and future of hockey in Hartford. He has spent many years as an entrepreneur in the world of professional hockey and in the film industry.

The event is open to the public. For more information, visit www.uconnsba.com.

HOMESTAND CONTINUES FRIDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHTS

Before the break for the All-Star Classic, the Manchester Monarchs visit the Whale on Friday night and the Portland Pirates are in town on Saturday night. The Pirates (28-13-4-1) overtook Manchester (27-16-1-3) for the Atlantic Division lead on Sunday when they beat Worcester 6-5 in a shootout while the Monarchs were losing 2-1 in a shootout with the Bruins. The Pirates increased their division lead to three points Tuesday night as AHL Player of the Week Mark Mancari scored his 27^th goal, seventh in the last three games, in a 2-1 victory over the Norfolk Admirals.

The Whale is 1-4-0-1 against the Monarchs, losing three times in Manchester by one goal, once in a shootout. But they’ve also lost twice by three goals, including 3-0 at home on Jan. 2 when rookie Martin Jones made 39 saves for his first shutout of the season and former Yale forward David Meckler and Richard Clune helped set each other up in the third period. The Whale’s only victory was 5-1 on Dec. 11 when Mats Zuccarello scored twice and linemate Newbury had one goal and two assists and Johnson made 23 saves. Zuccarello and Newbury are among a staggering eight Whale players who have been on recall to the parent Rangers.

Left wing Bud Holloway leads the Monarchs’ balanced attack with 14 goals and 19 assists, followed by All-Star defenseman Viatcheslav Voynov (9, 23), center Oscar Moller (9, 19), left wing Dwight King (12, 15) and centers Justin Azevedo (12, 15) and Corey Elkins (12, 14). Meckler has 13 goals and eight assists. Jones has had an excellent rookie season with a 16-5-0 record with a 2.17 goals-against average, .930 save percentage and two shutouts. Jeff Zatkoff is 10-11-3, 3.18, .897.

Hall of Fame defenseman Brad Park will make a special appearance Saturday night, when he will meet and greet fans and sign autographs before the game and then drop the ceremonial first puck before the Whale takes on the Pirates and former Hartford Whalers star and captain Kevin Dineen. Park also will play for the Bruins legends against the Hartford Whalers legends Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. at Rentschler Field in East Hartford before the Whale faces the Bruins at 7 p.m.

After the All-Star break, the homestand ends Feb. 4 against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers before the Whale has a home-and-home set with Portland on Feb. 5-6.

WETHERSFIELD NATIVE MCDONALD AMONG ALL-STAR GAME ADDITIONS

Wethersfield native Colin McDonald, son of former Hartford Whalers and New Haven Nighthawks defenseman Gerry McDonald, was among seven players added to team rosters for the All-Star Classic.

McDonald, a fourth-year pro and a second-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2003, has already set career highs with 23 goals and 30 points while playing all 47 games for Oklahoma City Barons this season.

Providence forward Jamie Arniel, Worcester defenseman Justin Braun and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goalie John Curry were added to the Eastern Conference roster, while McDonald, Toronto defenseman Keith Aulie, San Antonio forward Mathieu Beaudoin and Hamilton defenseman Mathieu Carle were added to the Western Conference team.

The replacements were needed because Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Brad Thiessen, Providence’s Steve Kampfer, Worcester’s Jonathan Cheechoo, San Antonio’s Garrett Stafford, Toronto’s Joey Crabb, Oklahoma City’s Linus Omark and Grand Rapids’ Brendan Smith will miss the event because of injury or NHL recall.

Jeremy Williams will make his first All-Star appearance as the Whale’s lone representative.

Tickets for the All-Star Classic, including admission to the skills competition at 3 p.m. on Sunday and the All-Star Game at 7 p.m. on Monday, are nearly sold out. Tickets are also available for the post-skills party Sunday at 6 p.m. and the Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony Monday at 11 a.m. The Hall of Fame Class of 2011 includes Mitch Lamoureux, Larry Wilson and the late Harry Pidhirny and Maurice Podoloff, who grew in New Haven, graduated from Hillhouse High and Yale and was a former AHL and NBA president. AHL Hall of Famer Bruce Boudreau, former coach of the Hershey Bears and now coach of the Washington Capitals, will be the keynote speaker, and AHL graduate and 2008 Foster Hewitt Award winner Mike Emrich will be master of ceremonies. For more information, contact the Giant Center box office at 717-534-3911.

ZUCCARELLO STILL PERFECT; ANISIMOV BREAKS DROUGHT WITH WINNER

Zuccarello continued his amazing shootout run in the NHL Monday night, making it 4-for-4 since being called up from the Whale. But “The Norwegian Hobbit” then had to pass the baton and headlines to former Wolf Pack center Artem Anisimov, who converted a shootout attempt for the first time in five tries in the sudden-death fourth round to give the gritty, beat-up Rangers a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals.

It was almost a carbon copy of Saturday night in Atlanta, where the Rangers rallied from a one-goal, third-period deficit to beat the Thrashers 3-2 as Zuccarello again proved a magician with the puck as he deked Ondrej Pavelec and scored the only shootout goal. He did likewise against Capitals rookie goalie Braden Holtby, then Anisimov scored two rounds later with a brilliant backhander that gave the Rangers a league-high 17 road victories and made them a league-best 7-12-3 when they trail entering the third period.

“It was a more defensive game for us, so as an offensive forward, you feel like you didn’t play a good game, so I feel like had to score again (in the shootout),” Zuccarello told reporters after the game. “It’s just a great feeling to see that go in. Then Artie goes, and it’s good. … Every game, it’s just people doing their job, and it’s just an unbelievable team spirit. It was a great team effort and just a great win.”

Martin Biron, filling in for All-Star Henrik Lundqvist, got the Rangers to the shootout with six of his 22 saves in overtime against the pressing Capitals. Then he stopped two of four shootout shots as the Rangers improved to 5-1 in the skills competition despite having six rookies in the lineup. Biron’s eighth win in the first year of a two-year, $1.75 million contract tied the combined total of all Rangers goalies not named Lundqvist since the 2007-08 season. Alex Auld, former Wolf Pack goalies Steve Valiquette and Matt Zaba and Whale goalie Chad Johnson had seven in two seasons.

Michael Sauer did a bang-up job on the Rangers’ No. 1 defense pairing, taking Girardi’s spot alongside another former Wolf Pack defenseman, All-Star Marc Staal. They were matched against Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Jason Chimera, and while Ovechkin had a game-high six shots, the Caps’ top line fired blanks in the scoring department.

It continued to help an ascension for Sauer, the biggest bargain on the Rangers with a league-minimum cap hit of $500,000 after being a longshot to be on the roster in training camp after he had a variety of injuries during much of two of his three seasons in Hartford.

“Playing against that top line was a good opportunity,” said Sauer, who had four blocked shots and one hit in 24:22. “Every game does get better. When you’re put in situations more and more to get out and have that experience and do the job you gain confidence.”

BRUINS 4, WHALE 2

Providence     1 0 3 – 4
Connecticut    0 2 0 – 2

First period: 1. Prov, MacDonald 9 (Penner), 17:05. Penalty: Valentenko, Ct (hooking), 6:19.

Second period: 2. Conn, Weise 8 (Kennedy, Williams), 3:01 (pp). 3. Conn, Weise 9 (Williams, Williams), 7:20 (pp). Penalties: Reich, Pro (hooking), 1:26; Whitfield, Pro (tripping), 6:34; Caron, Pro (hooking), 17:01.

Third period; 4. Prov, Sauve 11 (Cohen, Ling), 6:16 (pp). 5. Prov, Sauve 12 (Arniel, Alexandrov), 10:23 (pp). 6. Prov, Reich 10, 18:56 (en). Penalties: Bickel, Ct (interference), 1:53; Nightingale, Ct (boarding), 6:03; Cameron, Ct (tripping), 7:34; Colborne, Pro (hooking), 8:15; Tessier, Ct (slashing), 8:31; Redding, Ct (hooking), 19:23.

Shots on goal: Providence 11-7-17-35. Connecticut 12-11-6-29; Power-play opportunities: Providence 2 of 5; Connecticut 2 of 3; Goalies: Providence, Schaefer 8-12-1 (29 shots-27 saves). Connecticut, Johnson 14-15-3 (34-31); A: 3,119; Referees: Tim Mayer, Jamie Koharski; Linesmen: Paul Simeon, Luke Galvin

By Bruce Berlet

CROMWELL, Conn. – As most of the Connecticut Whale players relaxed in the locker room after practice Monday morning, new/old right wing Dale Weise had a chalk talk session with assistant coach J.J. Daigneault.

Daigneault drew up some notable power plays of NHL teams such as the Dallas Stars and Philadelphia Flyers and tried to orchestrate a couple of plays that he thought Weise could do to try to best utilize his talents with a man advantage.

Weise didn’t play on the power play in 10 games with the parent New York Rangers, but he is certain to get plenty of ice time in all situations when the Whale hosts the Providence Bruins on Tuesday night at 7 in the start of a key four-game homestand against Atlantic Division opponents that they’re battling for playoff spots and position.

Weise averaged only 9.1 shifts and 6 minutes, 30 seconds of ice time in two stays on Broadway that ended Saturday night when he was reassigned to the Whale, while forward Evgeny Grachev and defenseman Del Zotto were recalled. Grachev and Del Zotto got the call after Brandon Prust (foot) and former Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman Daniel Girardi (ribcage, broken nose) were injured in a 3-2 shootout victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Saturday night, in which call-up Mats Zuccarello scored the only goal in the skills competition to improve to 3-for-3 in the NHL.

Grachev and Del Zotto are the seventh and eighth players on recall, but Prust recovered in time to play in a 2-1 shootout victory over the Washington Capitals on Monday night on a line with Brian Boyle and call-up Chad Kolarik. Grachev replaced call-up Brodie Dupont, who made his NHL debut against the Thrashers but was a healthy scratch as Grachev played with call-up Kris Newbury and captain/Trumbull native Chris Drury. Girardi took the morning skate but didn’t play Monday night, so Del Zotto, who had seven assists in eight games with the Whale, played his first with the Rangers since Jan. 2 alongside former Capital Mike Eminger. Michael Sauer took Girardi’s spot on the Rangers’ No. 1 defensive tandem with another former Wolf Pack player, All-Star Marc Staal.

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But Del Zotto will be headed back to Hartford soon if Rangers coach John Tortorella has his way. Tortorella said reports on Del Zotto were he was “a little inconsistent” with the Whale, but he’s confident the 21-year-old made strides after having been asked to work on things such as being more physical, keeping it simple and not having his stick in the air so much.

“To be honest, I’d rather have (Del Zotto) still playing down there,” Tortorella told reporters after the team’s morning skate. “But right now he is the guy in the situation with our club that we’re in,”

Del Zotto noted the difference between the NHL and AHL, starting with the mode of transportation.

“The first game was a 10-hour bus trip (to Norfolk), so, yeah, things are a lot different down there,” said Del Zotto, the Rangers’ first-round pick (20^th overall) in 2008 and a member of the NHL all-rookie team last season. “But the guys were great to me and made me feel comfortable right away, so it was easy fitting in there. There’s a lot of things you’ve got to get used to, and mentally, it’s the biggest thing. Every game you’ve got to be ready and mentally prepare yourself.”

Tortorella also doesn’t want yo-yo treatment for Grachev, who was scoreless in six games with the Rangers in November but had 11 of his 12 goals and five of his six assists since rejoining the Whale, including his first pro hat trick in a 5-1 victory over Springfield on Saturday night that gave him six goals in his last three games.

“We don’t want to just keep on bringing him up and down, up and down,” Tortorella said. “I’ve seen players that you try to rush them into it, and I don’t think they ever get to where they could be if they went through the right process.”

Meanwhile, Whale coach Ken Gernander worked with his ever-changing cast of characters. Weise was back at right wing, center Todd White has recovered quicker than expected and skated with the team for first time since missing four games with an injury sustained in a 3-0 loss at Portland on Jan. 14, and Jyri Niemi returned to defense after playing left wing against Springfield.

“It was fun,” the smiling 20-year-old Finn said of his new/old position. “I started playing as a forward but have played defense since I was 14.”

While the Whale practiced, wing Chris McKelvie had surgery to repair a sliced toe sustained when he was stepped on in the second period Saturday night. McKelvie was playing his second game since being called up from Greenville of the ECHL on Thursday.

Later in the day, wing Tyler Donati was recalled from the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL in case White can’t play Tuesday night. Donati signed an AHL contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack on Oct. 21 and was scoreless in eight games before being loaned to Elmira on Nov. 30. He had 10 goals and 11 assists in 17 games with the Jackals. Last season, Donati was the ECHL’s leading scorer and MVP with 38 goals and 76 in 67 games.

While Donati is a possible fill-in, the Whale will be counting on Weise, who didn’t have a point in limited ice time in 10 games with the Rangers after getting seven goals and five assists in 16 games with the Whale. When he was recalled a second time on Dec. 29, he ranked fourth on the Whale in goals and was tied for third with four power-play goals despite missing 18 games because of injuries.

When asked what he said to Weise upon his return, Gernander said, “I congratulated him, said good job (with the Rangers) and now it’s back to work. He’ll get his share of ice time.”

“It was a good opportunity to be up there for a month and really get a good taste of what it’s about,” Weise said.

“Obviously it’s good for everyone to get an opportunity and a couple of guys make their (Rangers) debuts (Kolarik, Newbury and Dupont). Obviously I’m happy for those guys, and it’s nice to have a couple of guys you know to hang around with.”

Weise will look to build on that opportunity against the Bruins and the Whale’s other opponents this weekend, Manchester on Friday night and Portland on Saturday night, before the three-day All-Star break.

“I feel fresher than I have all season, and I’m excited to be down here, get back to work and help the boys continue to win,” Weise said. “I’ve obviously got a lot of pent-up energy.”

24 HOURS TO REMEMBER FOR NEWCOMER CAMERON

What some players will do to get a shot at the next level.

After receiving word he had been called up by the Whale from the Stockton (Calif.) Thunder of the ECHL, wing Bretton Cameron took a red-eye flight out of Sacramento on Friday at 11 p.m. (Pacific time), landing in Atlanta at 6:30 a.m. (Eastern time) Saturday. After a 90-minue layover, he flew to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, arriving at 10 a.m. Cameron was picked up at the airport, dropped off his equipment at the XL Center and headed to the hotel, arriving at 11 a.m. for a two-hour nap before a pregame meal.

After returning to the hotel at 2 p.m., Cameron took another 90-minute nap and then checked in at the rink. The team bus left for Springfield at 4:30 p.m., and the opening faceoff was at 7:30.

So what was Cameron’s condition at the start of his AHL debut?

“I felt pretty good coming into the game with a little bit of nerves,” said Cameron, who played on a line with center Ryan Garlock and feisty wing Devin DiDiomete. “I didn’t feel like I had quite the step the first couple of shifts, but after the first period I settled down and felt more comfortable with my linemates and thought that we created some chances.

“As the game went on, though, I definitely felt the fatigue of the whole 24-hour deal. It was good to have the win. It was an exciting game.”

Adrenaline and nearly scoring helped Cameron carry on. His only shot, a laser from the high slot, glanced off Falcons goalie Gustaf Wesslau and fell into the crease, where DiDiomete scored his first goal to give the Whale a 3-0 lead against Springfield’s top line of Kyle Wilson, Tom Sestito and former Hartford Wolf Pack wing and captain Dane Byers. DiDiomete later registered his first two-goal game as a pro and came within inches of a hat trick after Gernander made the classy move of putting him on the ice on a power play in the final 30 seconds.

“It wish I had the 2-on-1 back (in the second period) to put it in a different spot, but I can’t complain when I’m getting chances, especially for my first (AHL) game,” Cameron said.

Cameron had 13 goals, 10 assists and was plus-10 in 29 games with the Thunder after getting 40 goals and 27 assists in 68 games in his final junior season with Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League. He was in Whale training camp this fall, when he learned about some of his current teammates, including his new linemates.

“It was easy to play with those two guys because they talked a lot and helped me out,” Cameron said. “And it helped that I knew them. I don’t think I played with them in camp, but just knowing someone before you come in makes it easier to talk to them. They were good talking to me on the bench and on the ice.”

Gernander spoke well of Cameron.

“I thought he did all right,” Gernander said. “It wasn’t the first time we’d seen him, so it wasn’t completely unexpected or a complete shock, and I’m sure he’ll get more and more comfortable as things go on. The part that makes it easier for individuals to join the team and to participate is when everybody is adhering to the structure. You don’t have to adlib or freelance at all.”

FAMILIAR FACES FOR CONNECTICUT WHALE

The Whale (22-17-2-5) will be seeing plenty of familiar faces the next few weeks, starting with “Two for Tuesday” night as fans can purchase two upper-level $12 seats for the price of one. The offer is good only at the XL Center box office and cannot be combined with any other offer.

The Bruins (20-20-3-1) are in a tie for fifth place with Springfield (20-21-1-3) and seven points behind the third-place Whale after a 2-1 shootout victory over Manchester on Sunday. The Whale is 3-1-0-0 against the Bruins, winning the first three games by a combined 12-3 score before losing 3-2 at home on Dec. 15. Rookie goalie Cameron Talbot won his three starts against the Bruins but won’t be available as he is still recovering from a high ankle sprain sustained in a 3-0 loss at Portland on Jan. 14. Pier-Olivier Pelletier, recalled from Laredo of the CHL on Wednesday, is expected to be the backup to Chad Johnson through the break for the AHL All-Star Classic on Monday and Tuesday at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa.

The Bruins, 25^th in the AHL in goals (108), are led by centers Jamie Arniel (14 goals, 14 assists), Zach Hamill (3, 24) and Joe Colborne (11, 13). Rugged left wing Lane MacDermid, son of former Hartford Whalers right wing Paul MacDermid, has three goals, five assists and 98 penalty minutes, second on the team to Nathan McIver’s 130. The Bruins have been bolstered by the addition of veteran center Trent Whitfield, who has one goal and three assists in 10 games and scored the winning shootout goal Sunday. Rookie Matt Dalton (6-4-0, 2.67 goals-against average, .912 save percentage, two shutouts) backstopped the Bruins to their only win over the Whale on Jan. 15 with 34 saves. He had a shutout until the final 2:30 after the Bruins’ 6-foot-4, 235-pound Brian McGrattan received a 5-minute major, 10-minute misconduct, game misconduct and subsequent one-game suspension for leaving the bench and making an illegal check to the head on 5-9, 177-pound Kelsey Tessier with 4:14 to go. Tessier got a bit of revenge when he set up Oren Eizenman’s goal with 21/2 minutes left, and Dupont scored on a 6-on-3 with nine seconds left, but it was too little too late. Veteran Nolan Schaefer (7-12-1, 3.12, .902, no shutouts) had 41 saves in regulation and overtime and stopped four of six shots in the shootout win on Sunday.

The Monarchs and Pirates visit the Whale on Friday and Saturday nights. The Pirates (27-13-4-1) overtook Manchester (27-16-1-3) for the Atlantic Division on Sunday when they beat Worcester 6-5 in a shootout while the Monarchs were losing their shootout. Hall of Fame defenseman Brad Park will make a special appearance Saturday night, when he will meet and greet fans and sign autographs before the game and then drop the ceremonial first puck before the Whale takes on the Pirates and former Hartford Whalers star and captain Kevin Dineen. Park and Cheshire native Brian Leetch, another Hall of Famer who played for the Rangers and Bruins, also will play for the Bruins legends against the Hartford Whalers legends Feb. 19 at 4 p.m. before the Whale faces the Providence Bruins at 7 p.m. The doubleheader is part of the “Harvest-Properties.com Whalers Hockey Fest” on Feb. 11-23 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, where construction of the rink began on Jan. 17. In case of bad weather, the Whale-Bruins game will be played Feb. 20 at the XL Center

After the All-Star break, the homestand ends Feb. 4 against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers before the Whale has a home-and-home set with Portland on Feb. 5-6. … Pirates right wing Mark Mancari was named Reebok/AHL Player of the Week on Monday after getting eight goals and two assists and being plus-7 in three victories and a loss. He had back-to-back hat tricks in a 5-2 victory over Providence on Saturday night and a 5-4 shootout win over Worcester on Sunday, moving the Pirates back into sole possession of the Atlantic Division lead. Mancari now leads the AHL in goals (26) and is third in points (51) in 42 games, including 12-7-19 in a current 11-game scoring streak. The Whale nominated Grachev, who had four goals in two games. Other nominees included South Windsor native Jon DiSalvatore, a right wing with the Houston Aeros

Hartford, CT …  Whalers Sports and Entertainment announced today that John McKenzie, Fred O’Donnell, Terry Yake and Scott Daniels have been added to the group of featured players for the Hartford Whalers legends vs. Boston Bruins legends game February 19, 2011 at Rentschler Field in East Hartford.

The legends game comprises part of the “Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl,” the featured event of the two-week outdoor Whalers Hockey Fest spectacular at Rentschler Field that will include numerous collegiate, high school, prep school and youth hockey games.  The legends game will face off at 4:00 PM on February 19 and will be followed by the outdoor AHL game between the Connecticut Whale and the Providence Bruins at 7:00 PM.

McKenzie, a right wing from High River, Alberta, played for both the Bruins and the New England Whalers during a 21-year professional career. McKenzie was a part of two Stanley Cup-winning teams with the Bruins, in 1969-70 and 1971-72, and reached the WHA finals with the Whalers in the 1977-78 season.

McKenzie played in 691 total NHL games for the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers and Bruins from 1958-72, totaling 206 goals and 268 assists for 474 points.  His time with the Bruins spanned from January of 1966 through the end of the Cup-winning 1971-72 campaign and included 453 games-played, 169 goals and 227 assists for 396 points, and 700 penalty minutes.

He also competed in 477 WHA contests from 1972-79, scoring 163 times and adding 250 assists for 413 total points. McKenzie ranks seventh all-time in WHA games played, and his number 19 was retired by the Hartford Whalers.  McKenzie skated for the Whalers for the final two-and-a-half seasons of their WHA existence, logging 189 all-time games and totaling 57 goals and 76 assists for 133 points, along with 201 penalty minutes.

O’Donnell, a left wing and native of Kingston, Ontario, skated two NHL seasons with the Bruins, as well as two WHA seasons with the Whalers. Originally a fourth-round pick of the Minnesota North Stars in the 1969 NHL Draft, O’Donnell played in 115 games with the Bruins from 1972-74, and totaled 15 goals and 11 assists for 26 points, along with 98 minutes in penalties. He played a total of 155 games with New England from 1974-76, scoring 32 goals with 26 assists for 58 points, with 165 penalty minutes.

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Yake, a center from New Westminster, British Columbia, played in 104 games for the Whalers from 1988-1993, scoring 24 goals and adding 37 assists for 61 points. A fourth-round pick of the Whalers in the 1987 NHL Draft, Yake had his best season as a member of the Whalers in 1992-93, when he skated in 66 games and totaled 22 goals and 31 assists for 53 points. His 22 goals ranked fourth on the team.

Yake suited up for a total of 403 career NHL contests with the Whalers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals, scoring 77 goals with 120 assists for 197 points. Yake won the Calder Cup during the 1990-91 season with the Springfield Indians, and all told played 21 professional seasons with teams in the NHL, AHL, IHL, DEL and Swiss-B leagues.

Daniels, a left wing hailing from Mistawasis, Saskatchewan, played a total of 66 games with the Whalers from 1992-96. His best season in Hartford came in 1995-96, when he played in 53 games, registering three goals and four assists for seven points, along with a team-leading 254 penalty minutes. In nine professional seasons, Daniels played in 149 NHL games, also seeing time with the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils, scoring eight goals and adding 12 assists for 20 points and amassing 667 penalty minutes.

Originally a seventh-round pick of the Whalers in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, Daniels also was Yake’s teammate on the Calder Cup-Champion Springfield Indians club of 1990-91.

Tickets for the February 19 Harvest-Properties.com Whale Bowl, which include admission to both the AHL game and the legends game, are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com, as well as at the Bushnell box office from Monday through Friday, 12 noon-5:00 PM.  Ticket prices range from $20 to $85 and can also be purchased by calling the Connecticut Whale at 860-728-3366.  Tickets purchased online can be printed immediately (via Ticketmaster).

HARTFORD, January 24, 2011: Connecticut Whale general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the Whale has recalled forward Tyler Donati from the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL.

This will be the second stint for Donati with the Whale, who signed the fourth-year pro to an AHL contract October 21. Prior to being loaned to Elmira November 30, Donati played eight games with the Whale and was scoreless with eight shots on goal. In 17 games with the Jackals, the 5-10, 180-pound Oakville, Ontario native has rung up 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points and has 34 penalty minutes.

Last season with Elmira, Donati was the ECHL’s leading scorer and MVP, with 38 goals and 76 assists for 114 points in 67 games.

The Whale are back in home-ice action at the XL Center tomorrow night, Tuesday, January 25, entertaining the arch-rival Providence Bruins in a 7:00 game. The Whale are offering a special “Two for Tuesday” deal for that game, two $12 upper-level seats for the price of one.

The Whale are also on home ice this Friday, January 28 against the Manchester Monarchs and Saturday, January 29 vs. Head Coach Kevin Dineen and the Portland Pirates. Both of those games face off at 7:00.

Tickets for all 2010-11 Whale home games are available now at the XL Center ticket 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.