Yablonski heading back to NHL with 2-way deal
Sports
Posted By John Statton
Posted 1 month ago
A Meadow Lake hockey export will return to the NHL next season.
Jeremy Lablonski, 30, returns for his 9th season as a professional hockey player.
He signed a one-year, two-way contract with the New York Islanders.
"They're a team that seems like it would be a good opportunity for me," he said.
"Everything seems to be working out great right now."
The 30-year-old former Meadow Laker said he almost signed on with the Islanders a few years ago, but opted for the Ottawa Senators.
Yablonski is known for his enforcement on the ice. He received a fighting major in the first seven minutes of play in the NHL. He debuted with the St. Louis Blues on December 30, 2003.
"That's definitely why they brought me in," he said.
"East is a tough division now."
He joins Trevor Gillies and Zenon Konopka. Yablonski said they will be an intimidating force.
"If the three of us get to play together it will be a dream come true for all of us," he said
"I think we could scare some teams away."
The 6' 1", 235 forward has played 266 career games in the AH, and 81 games in the ECHL. He earned 9 goals, 15 assists and 891 penalty minutes, and 4 goals, 8 assists and 404 penalty minutes, respectively.
Although the 2010-2011 NHL season hasn't started, Yablonski is looking to make it a good year.
"I just want to play good, stay healthy, and hopefully have one of my best years," he said.
"We'll see what happens next year."
Yablonski isn't the only one looking forward to next season.
"We are very excited to add Jeremy to our organization," said Islanders General Manager Garth Snow.
"He adds leadership, size, and an intimidating toughness factor to our lineup."
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