The Colorado Avalanche, parent club of the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters, announced Friday that the team has signed forward Mark Olver to a two-year contract through the 2013-14 season.
In addition, the club also announced the signings of forwards Bryan Lerg, Bill Thomas and Geoff Walker, along with defensemen Thomas Pock and Sean Sullivan, each to a one-year contract.
Olver, 24, collected seven points (4g, 3a) in 24 games with the Avalanche last season. He also appeared in 15 games for Lake Erie, tallying nine points (2g, 7a).
Colorado’s fifth-round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft, Olver has appeared in 42 career NHL games, registering 16 points (6g, 10a). In 79 AHL outings, Olver has notched 27 goals and 24 assists for 51 points. As a rookie in 2010-11, Olver represented the Monsters in the AHL All-Star Classic.
Lerg, 26, and Walker, 24, were teammates this past season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Lerg finished second on the club in scoring with 53 points (27g, 26a) in 70 games, while Walker was fourth with 44 points (18g, 26a) in 68 contests. Lerg’s 27 goals tied for the team lead, while Walker led the Penguins in both power-play goals (12) and penalty minutes (114).
A native of Livonia, Mich., Lerg has posted 55 goals and 56 assists for 111 points in 217 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Springfield.
Walker, a native of Charlottetown, P.E.I., has registered 34 goals and 54 assists for 88 points in 175 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre and Manchester.
Pock, 30, has spent the last three seasons in Europe, including the 2011-12 with MoDo in the Swedish Elite League. Pock was an AHL All-Star in 2006 and has totaled 23 goals, 89 assists, 112 points and a plus-40 rating over 195 AHL games, all with Hartford from 2004-08.
The Klagenfurt, Austria, native has appeared in 118 career NHL games for the New York Rangers and New York Islanders, totaling 17 points (8g, 9a).
Thomas, 29, recorded 27 goals and 25 assists for 52 points in 65 games with San Antonio last season, and added five goals and five assists for 10 points in 10 Calder Cup Playoff games. He also appeared in seven NHL contests with Florida, tallying one goal.
Thomas has spent six seasons in the AHL with San Antonio, Rochester, Springfield and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, tallying 93 goals and 115 assists for 208 points in 312 career games. He has notched 16 goals and 12 assists for 28 points in 87 NHL contests with Florida, Pittsburgh and Phoenix.
Sullivan, 28, split the 2011-12 season between the AHL’s Worcester Sharks and San Antonio Rampage, combining to register 34 points (6g, 28a) with a plus-14 rating in 61 games. An AHL All-Star in 2010, Sullivan has amassed 39 goals and 119 assists for 158 points in 317 career AHL games.
