The Charlotte Checkers today announced that they have acquired goaltender Tom McCollum on loan from the Stockton Heat.
McCollum, 27, is a veteran of 227 AHL games with Grand Rapids and Stockton, during which time he has posted a 104-91-13 record, 2.78 goals-against average and .905 save percentage. He will join the Checkers in Winnipeg as they begin a back-to-back, two-game set against the Manitoba Moose starting Thursday.
In a corresponding move, the Checkers assigned rookie goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to the ECHL’s Florida Everblades. The team also swapped forwards with the Everblades, recalling Clark Bishop and assigning Mitchell Heard.
McCollum, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound native of Amherst, NY, won his only AHL game with the Heat this season, stopping 19 of 20 shots during a 40-minute relief appearance vs. San Diego on Nov. 25. He also appeared in five games with the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder, most recently on Feb. 25, going 3-1-0 with a 2.97 goals-against average and .894 save percentage.
A first-round draft choice (30th overall) by Detroit in 2008, McCollum has played in three NHL games with the Red Wings, earning his first career victory during the 2014-15 campaign.
McCollum, who was in the Detroit organization from his draft until this season, is the Grand Rapids Griffins’ all-time leader in games played, saves and minutes played. Last season, he posted a 2.42 goals-against average and .923 save percentage – both of which were tops among Griffins goaltenders – and played in seven of the team’s 10 Calder Cup Playoff games. He was also named the Griffins’ Man of the Year in the community three times.
