Thrashers Ink Jim Slater to Multi-Year Contract

[Thrillhouse]

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Thrashers have re-signed restricted free agent forward Jim Slater to a multi-year contract, according to Executive Vice President and General Manager Don Waddell.

Slater, 24, recorded 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) and 62 penalty minutes in a career-high 74 games with the Thrashers last season. He ranked fifth on the team with a plus-eight rating and added two game-winning goals. He also appeared in four Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Thrashers.

The 6-0, 190-pound center has recorded 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists) and 108 penalty minutes in 145 career games with the Thrashers. He has also appeared in four games with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League during the 2005-06 season, recording two assists.

Prior to his professional career, Slater played four seasons of college hockey for Michigan State, recording 172 points (64 goals, 108 assists) in 157 career games. He served as the Spartans team captain and was named team MVP for both his junior and senior seasons. Before joining Michigan State, he spent three seasons with Cleveland of the North American Hockey League, appearing in 154 games.

The Petoskey, Mich., native has represented the United States in international competition on two occasions, the 2006 World Championships, where he tallied one assist in seven games, and the 2002 World Junior Championships, where he recorded five points (one goal, four assists) in seven games.

Slater was drafted by the Thrashers in the first round, 30th overall, of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.