Sundogs add three to fifth anniversary roster

PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. – Arizona Sundogs Head Coach and General Manager Marco Pietroniro announced the addition of three more players to their fifth anniversary roster on Wednesday afternoon. Forwards Jason Visser and Rob Lehtinen and defenseman Mike Nesdill have all re-signed for the 2010-11 campaign. They join Joey Sides, Adam Smyth and goalie Doug Groenestege, who re-signed earlier in the summer.  

Visser, 28, is returning for his fourth season with the team. He tallied 21 points (9 G, 12 A) and 18 penalty minutes in 43 games played last season while injuries limited him to six points (2 G, 4 A) and 2 PIM in just 13 games in 2008-09.
 
“Jason has missed parts of the last two seasons due to injury,” Pietroniro said. “But he’s set to enter training camp healthy and we’re excited for him to return to the ice and re-establish himself as a leader for our team.”
 
Lehtinen, 27, is back for his third year with the Sundogs. He split time as a forward and a defenseman last season, collecting 14 points (5 G, 9 A) and 36 PIM in 64 games played.
 
“Rob is a reliable player that has the ability to play both as a forward and defenseman,” Pietroniro said. “We’ve called upon him numerous times to play both positions and he’s made the switch with ease. He’s a great team player and we’re happy to have him back for the 2010-11 season.”
 
Entering his third pro season, Nesdill, 26, contributed 16 points (2 G, 14 A) and 107 PIM in 64 games with Arizona last year.
 
“Mike’s a skilled player with a lot of potential and we’re hopeful he’ll be able to build upon the strides he made with our team last year,” Pietroniro added. “We’re pleased to have him return for the 2010-11 season.”
 
Newly-signed to the Sundogs this season are defensemen Tyler Butler and Mike Novodill and forward Steve Kaye. Veteran defenseman Steve Bartolone, who announced his retirement in mid-August will be joining Pietroniro behind the bench as a full-time assistant coach.
After winning the CHL championship in 2008, the Sundogs have suffered through two losing seasons in which they failed to earn a playoff berth. Pietroniro, who has a 124-113-16 regular season record after four years as head coach, is determined to rally his players and the entire quad-cities community to return the team to greatness.
“We need a full commitment from everyone involved and we need to get back to believing in what we do in Arizona, Pietroniro said. “Our team is a community team and we need everyone to be part of it. I believe that with everyone involved we can raise the roof together.”
On Tuesday night, over 100 fans showed up for the first-ever Arizona Sundogs town hall meeting featuring Pietroniro, team President Jerry McBurney and Vice President of Communications Shane Ferraro, who were on hand to speak to fans, listen to feedback and answer questions.
The Sundogs also used the two-hour event, held at Tim’s Toyota Center, to unveil its marketing campaign for the 2010-11. The primary slogan, “YOUR TEAM.”, will be featured throughout the team’s promotional efforts emphasizing the team’s commitment to the surrounding communities.
The secondary motto: “SIX ON THE ICE. 100 THOUSAND ON THE TEAM.”, references the population of the quad-cities area including Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Dewey-Humboldt.
“The slogans also serve as a call to action to our fans,” McBurney said. “We need our fans to again make Tim’s Toyota Center one of the toughest buildings in the league for visiting teams to play in.”
 
Last month, the Sundogs announced that they had reduced season ticket prices for the upcoming season and will continue its “No-risk Protection Plan”, which was introduced last year to all full season ticket holders, guaranteeing a full refund to anyone who should suffer an involuntary loss of employment through March 1, 2011.
“Season ticket holders are critically important to us and we want to treat them accordingly,” Pietroniro said.
The Central Hockey League, who has overseen operation of the Sundogs organization and also assumed the lease at Tim’s Toyota Center since terminating its license agreement with Consolidated Sports Holdings (USA) Inc. in April, hopes to introduce a new ownership group soon.
 
The Sundogs will play two pre-season contests on the road against the defending CHL champion Rapid City Rush on October 9-10th. On the way home, they open the regular season with a two-game series against the Colorado Eagles on October 15-16th.
Their two-game home opening series against the defending IHL champion Fort Wayne Komets follows on October 22-23rd at Tim’s Toyota Center.  
Contact the author/photographer at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com