Drazenovic scores first goal as a pro
(Sports) Wednesday, 31 October 2007, 01:00 PST
JASON PETERS, Citizen staff
Nick Drazenovic is back at full health. Now, he’s starting to do for the Peoria Rivermen what he did for four full seasons with his hometown Prince George Cougars.
Drazenovic, who missed the start of the American Hockey League season because of a lingering case of mononucleosis, scored his first AHL goal on Sunday. In a 7-1 Peoria win against the Grand Rapid Griffins, he gave the Rivermen a 1-0 lead in the first period when he took a rebound off the pad of Griffins goaltender Adam Berkhoel and snapped the puck into the net at the 5:26 mark.
Peoria is the top farm club of the St. Louis Blues, the team that drafted Drazenovic in the sixth round (171st overall) of the 2005 NHL entry draft.
In his first five games, Drazenovic -- wearing his familiar No. 10 -- had three points.
Dallas Thompson, general manager of the Cougars, is happy to see Drazenovic experiencing some success at the next level.
“He developed and got himself drafted, and now he’s doing what we want our guys to do, and that’s move on to be pro hockey players,” Thompson said.
If the book wasn’t already closed on Drazenovic coming back to Prince George for one more year of junior hockey, it seems to be now.
“We certainly haven’t heard different from St. Louis or anybody else,” Thompson said. “They flew him home to get his vehicle and have told him that he’s going to be there. That’s what we expected all the way along. We expect him to be there and wish him well.”
Prior to Tuesday night games in the AHL, the Rivermen were in third place in the Western Conference’s West Division. Their 5-3-0-1 record had them behind first-place Chicago (6-0-1-0) and second-place Milwaukee (6-1-1-0).