Utica Comets Director of Hockey Operations Pat Conacher announced today that the club has recalled forward Curtis Valk from the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL. In addition, Conacher announced that the Comets have signed forward Brandon Marino from the Brampton Beast of the ECHL to a professional tryout contract (PTO).
Valk, 22, appeared in one game for the Comets last year, and did not record a point. 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.
Marino, 29, has recorded 34 points (9-25-34) in 34 games for the Brampton Beast of the ECHL this season. Last year, the Riverside, CA native played in 50 games in Austria for the Szekeshfehervar Alba Volan Hockey Club, where he scored 11 goals and added 28 assists. With the Fort Wayne Komets in 2013-14, he paced the league with 58 assists, and won the league scoring title with 88 points (30-58-88). During the 2010-11 season with the Quad City Mallards of the CHL, he scored a league high 41 goals, and 13 power-play goals, en route to league MVP honors.
