09/21/2006 8:25 AM - The Albany River Rats announced today that the club has been assigned its first seven players for the 2006-07 campaign. The roster moves were made by the National Hockey League’s Colorado Avalanche, the developmental partner of the River Rats’ new affiliate, the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes.

Albany will open its training camp on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 at Pepsi Arena for physicals and the first day of official on-ice workouts. The River Rats play a pair of preseason games during training camp against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday, September 29 at 7:30pm from the Rinks at Shelton, CT and on Saturday, September 30 in a 7:00pm face-off at the Glens Falls Civic Center.

The following is a list of the players assigned to the American Hockey League club by position:

Goaltender: Kris Mayotte

Defensemen: Mike Vernace, Brandon Roach

Forwards: Dan DaSilva, Ryan Steeves, Dave Svagrovsky and Peter Tsimikalis

Individual game tickets for the River Rats’ 2006-07 regular season are currently on sale and for further information about full and partial-season ticket packages, please contact the Albany River Rats at (518) 487-2244 or visit www.albanyriverrats.com.

The Albany River Rats, who begin their 14th season as a member of the American Hockey League on October 6th, are owned and operated by Capital District Sports Inc, and serve as the top affiliate of the Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes and the Colorado Avalanche.