Brown Bears sign Michalka to tender

The Kenai River Brown Bears have signed Honeybaked U18 defenseman Rob Michalka to a tender for the 2008-09 season.

A solid anchor on Honeybaked’s defensive core this year, Michalka, 18, helped the team to an astounding 46-10-9 record and a second-place finish in the Midwest Elite Hockey League (MWEHL), widely considered one of the top Tier 1 AAA leagues in the U.S.
 
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Michalka, from Kalamazoo, Mich., totaled three goals for 16 points along with 118 penalty minutes in 65 games this season.  He was also a plus-21.

“Rob adds a certain level of toughness, size and defensive stability to our defensive core,” said Brown Bears coach-GM Mike Flanagan. “He should fit nicely into our returning group and play a very important role in us becoming a more competitive team.

“Rob’s on-ice ability, his strong moral character and his good academics make him the type of young man we want here representing our team and community.”

Michalka is the third tender signed by the Brown Bears this recruiting season – all from the MWEHL - with more expected to follow.

A tender is a contract, of sorts, a player signs announcing his intentions to play for that particular NAHL team and that NAHL team only. Once a player signs a tender with an NAHL team, his playing rights belong to that team within the NAHL and he may not be recruited by any other NAHL team.

Each team is granted eight (8) tenders - plus or minus any trades - which become active on Nov. 1. Tendered players are not eligible for the NAHL draft.