New York, January 19, 2011 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that forward Chad Kolarik has been recalled from the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Kolarik, 24, established a Connecticut franchise record with two shorthanded goals in a single period, and added two assists to tie the franchise mark for scoring in one period with four points during the opening frame of a 6-3 win vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday. His four points in the contest established a career-high, and tied the Whale’s season-high. Kolarik has registered 17 goals and 16 assists for 33 points, along with 38 penalty minutes and a plus-seven rating in 39 games with Springfield and Connecticut this season. He is tied for 11th in the AHL in goals, and 18th with 125 shots on goal. In 26 games with the Whale, he has recorded 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) with 20 penalty minutes and a plus-six rating. He is tied for second on the team in goals, ranks second with a plus-six rating and fourth with 79 shots on goal since being acquired from Columbus in exchange for Dane Byers on November 11, 2010. Kolarik has registered nine multi-point performances this season, and has tallied 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in his last 14 games.
The 5-11, 195-pounder has skated in 191 career AHL contests with the Connecticut Whale, Springfield Falcons, Syracuse Crunch, and San Antonio Rampage, registering 63 goals and 70 assists for 133 points, along with 140 penalty minutes. He split the 2009-10 season between San Antonio and Syracuse, recording a career-high, 26 goals and tying his career-high in scoring with 50 points in 76 games. He also appeared in two games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season, making his NHL debut on April 5, 2010 at St. Louis. In 2008-09, Kolarik established a career-high with 30 assists and 50 points in 76 games with San Antonio. He made his professional debut with San Antonio on April 16 in the 2008 Calder Cup Playoffs, and notched a hat trick in his next game two days later.
The Abington, Pennsylvania native was originally selected as Phoenix’s seventh round pick, 199th overall, in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
