Mallards Re-Sign Bobby Preece; Sign Jimmy Spratt

[chilly666]

The Quad City Mallards have signed defenseman Bob Preece and goaltender Jimmy Spratt while netminder Joe Palmer has departed the team to pursue endeavors outside hockey, the Mallards announced today. The Mallards further announced that forward Jason Kostadine and defenseman Jared Lavender have both been place on injured reserved.

Preece, 27, rejoins the Mallards for a third season after starting the campaign in Poland. The Bonita Springs, Florida, native picked up four assists in 12 games with GKS Katowice before returning to the Quad Cities.

“We’re thrilled to have Bob back with the Mallards,” said Mallards coach and general manager Terry Ruskowski. “Bob did an excellent job for this team over the last two years and bringing him back gives us another quality defenseman who can play in important situations and who really improves our depth on defense.”

Last season Preece scored six goals, totaled 17 points and finished tied for sixth in the Central Hockey League in plus/minus rating (+23) while playing in each of the Mallards’ 66 games. The 6’ 2”, 205-pound Preece broke into the pro ranks by scoring three times and totaling 17 points in 56 games with Quad City in 2010-11.

Preece originally joined the Mallards after spending four years at Bentley University. As a senior in 2009-10, Preece scored eight goals and totaled 25 points while registering 118 penalty minutes. Over the course of his college career, Preece notched a dozen goals and 57 points in 126 games. In 2008-09, he collected 24 points while helping Bentley to the best season in the Falcons’ 13-year Division I history.

Before heading to Bentley, Preece spent three seasons in the junior ranks with the North American Hockey League’s Fargo-Moorhead Jets.

Spratt, 27, played for three teams last season. The Chesterfield, Missouri, product saw action in two American Hockey League games with the Texas Stars, for whom he went 1-1-0 with a 2.02 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Spratt spent the bulk of the campaign in the ECHL with first the Idaho Steelheads and then the Utah Grizzlies. In a total of 24 ECHL games, the 6’ 1”, 185-pound netminder went 9-12-0 with a 3.39 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.

“Jimmy’s an experienced, quality goaltender who should be able to step in and help us out right away,” said Ruskowski. “We were glad to be able to get someone of his ability to come in and fill that opening for us.”

Now in his fourth season, Spratt was originally selected by the Calgary Flames in the seventh round of the 2004 National Hockey League Entry Draft with the two hundred thirteenth overall choice. He played in the ECHL for the majority of his first three seasons, suiting up for the Toledo Walleye, Las Vegas Wranglers and Victoria Salmon Kings in addition to Idaho and Utah. Spratt returns to the CHL with the Mallards after first playing the league with the Rapid City Rush, for whom he saw action in five games in 2010-11.

Before turning pro, Spratt played four seasons at Bowling Green, where he went 27-62-5 with a 3.45 goals against average and a .883 save percentage in exactly 100 career games.

Palmer went 2-2-0 in four games with the Mallards while turning in a 3.15 goals against average and a .904 save percentage.

Kostadine has been placed on 14-day injured reserve after suffering a lower body injury last Friday night in the Mallards’ 4-3 shootout loss to Allen. Kostadine’s streak of 139 consecutive regular season games played for the Mallards ended when he sat out last Saturday night’s rematch with Allen. The third year Mallard has recorded 19 penalty minutes in seven games so far this season.

Lavender has been placed on 7-day I.R., also because of a lower body injury, after picking up three assists in the Mallards’ first eight games.