Houston Aeros general manager Tom Lynn announced today the American Hockey League club has signed forward Tony Hrkac to a standard player contract (SPC).
Hrkac, 42, most recently played in the 2004-05 season with the Milwaukee Admirals. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound forward was drafted in the second round (32nd overall) in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues. He has played in a total of 758 National Hockey League games with 371 points (132-239=371), and was a member of the Stanley Cup champion Dallas Stars in 1999.
Hrkac played collegiately at the University of North Dakota and received the Hobey Baker Award during the 1986-87 season as the top collegiate hockey player.
“We have made a bold move in solidifying veteran leadership and experience for our stretch run and playoffs,” said Lynn. “Tony Hrkac is a veteran of not only 758 NHL games and 41 NHL playoff games, he has also led a team to the Calder Cup. We had been in contact with Tony about a return to the AHL throughout the season, and given his history and the strong play of the Aeros of late, we believed he fulfilled the biggest need we had to enable this team to reach its potential.”
In total, Hrkac has played in 1,266 professional games in the NHL, AHL and International Hockey League combined and has 964 points (327-637=964). In addition, Hrkac has scored 73 points (27-46=73) in 104 playoff games including 41 games at the NHL level. He won the Calder Cup with the Milwaukee Admirals in 2004 scoring 20 points (8-12=20) in 22 games.
Hrkac will wear number 14 with the Aeros.
The Aeros continue their Calder Cup playoff push this Friday, March 13 at Toyota Center when they host the Quad City Flames at 7:35 p.m. Houston is currently in second place in the West Division with 16 games remaining in the regular season. Call (713) 974-PUCK or visit aeros.com for special ticket packages including the Aeros’ Spring Break Specials in which fans can purchase center ice tickets for just $23 per ticket.
