Utica Comets Director of Hockey Operations Pat Conacher has announced that the club has released defenseman Danny Syvret from his professional tryout contracts (PTO). In addition, the Comets have reassigned Curtis Valk to the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL.
Syvret, 30, played in 10 games for the Comets and recorded four points (2-2-4).In his AHL career, the defenseman has racked up 323 points (61-262) in 634 games. Syrvret split last season with the Iowa Wild, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL. He recorded 18 points (4-14-18) and 24 penalty minutes in 58 games with Iowa, before he played in 17 games and recorded five points (2-3-5) with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Millgrove, Ontario native was drafted in the third round (81st overall), by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2005 NHL Entry Level Draft.
Valk, 22, appeared in one game for the Comets this year and did not record a point. Last season he also did not record a point in one game for the Comets. He has appeared in five ECHL games with Kalamazoo this season since returning from a lower body injured suffered last season. In those five games he has recorded eight points (2-6-8), including a three point night (1-2-3) in his season debut on Dec. 31.
Last season, Valk scored 11 goals and assisted on 19 others in 31 games for the K-Wings. He was named the ECHL Player of the Month for October, and was selected to the ECHL All-Star team.
A native of Medicine Hat, Alberta, Valk recorded 255 points (125g-130a) in 270 career Western Hockey League games with the Medicine Hat Tigers, where he was a teammate of Comets forward Hunter Shinkaruk. During the 2013-14 season, he was tied for fourth in the league with 47 goals and was 11th with 92 points.
