AMERKS SIGN FIVE TO AHL CONTRACTS FOR 2024-25 SEASON
Jul 2, 2024Rochester Americans General Manager Jason Karmanos announced today that the team has re-signed forwards Graham Slaggert and Brendan Warren, defensemen Ethan Prow and Noah Laaouan, and goaltender Michael Houser all to one-year American Hockey League contracts for the 2024-25 season.
Slaggert, 26, returns to the organization after posting career-highs in assists (6) and points (6) while matching a personal-best in goals (6) in 46 games with Rochester in 2023-24. Slaggert also appeared four postseason contests, recording three shots.
The South Bend, Indiana, native has combined for 12 goals and 10 assists in 111 games at the AHL level with Rochester and Toronto since the start of the 2021-22 season while notching two points (0+2) in 11 playoff contests.
Prior to turning pro, the 6-foot-0, 195-pound forward completed a four-year collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame, where he registered 27 goals and 42 assists in 143 games for the Irish. He also helped the program capture the NCAA Big Ten Tournament championship in 2018-19.
As a senior with the Irish, he established a career-high in goals (12) while posting his second straight 25-point season. In addition to serving as team captain, he was named to the NCAA Albany All-Regional and Academic All-Big-Ten Teams.
Before his time at Notre Dame, Slaggert totaled 19 points in 61 career games for the United States National Team Development program.
After helping the U-18 team win a goal medal in 2016-17, he spent the following year with the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, recording 37 points (17+20) in 53 games.
Warren, 27, returns for his fifth season in Rochester after establishing a career-high in goals (5) to go with one assist in 33 games in 2023-24.
During the 2022-23 campaign, Warren posted career-highs in both assists (4) and points (7) in 43 games with the Amerks. In addition to recording three goals in the regular season, the 6-foot-0, 192-pound forward produced five points (1+4) in eight Calder Cup Playoff contests during the Amerks’ run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
In 137 career games in the AHL, all with Rochester, Warren has registered 25 points (16+9) while also totaling 50 points (23+27) in 91 contests with the Jacksonville Icemen (ECHL).
As a rookie with Jacksonville in 2020-21, Warren represented the Icemen at the 2020 ECHL All-Star Classic. He finished tied for team-lead in goals (14) among all first-year skaters and second in points (28) and fourth in assists (14) in 47 games.
Prior to turning pro, the Carleton, Mich., native completed a four-year collegiate career at the University of Michigan (NCAA), where he registered 45 points (18+27) in 149 games with the Wolverines from 2015-2019. As a Freshman, Warren helped the maize and blue claim the Big-10 Conference Championship while skating in all 38 games and registering 17 points (5+12).
Warren was originally drafted in third round (81st overall) by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2015 NHL Draft.
Prow, 31, returns to the organization for his fourth season after serving as assistant captain during the 2023-24 campaign. The veteran blueliner posted 19 points (4+15) in 56 games in 2023-24 while also notching a pair of points (0+2) in five playoff contests.
Since joining Rochester prior to the 2021-22 season, the Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, native has totaled 20 goals and 89 points for 109 points in 193 regular season contests while also adding 14 points (1+13) in 28 playoff games.
In 413 games at the AHL level with Rochester, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Springfield, the 5-foot-11, 183-pound defenseman has amassed 225 points on 52 goals and 173 assists since the start of 2015-2016.
He also skated in four contests with the Buffalo Sabres in 2021-22 and earned his first-ever NHL recall on Dec. 29, 2021, before scoring his first goal during the third period against the New Jersey Devils later that night.
Prior to turning pro, Prow played four seasons at St. Cloud State University (NCHC), amassing 99 points (19+80) in 149 games from 2012-2016. As a senior in 2015-16, he captained the Huskies to an NCHC championship while earning recognition as NCHC Player of the Year and a nomination as a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
Acquired by the Amerks midway through the 2023-24 season, Laaouan, who agreed to terms on a two-way deal, notched two points (0+2) in four games with Rochester, which included his first multi-assist outing on April 13, 2024. The Halifax, Nova Scotia, native made his Amerks debut on Feb. 3, 2024.
The 6-foot-0, 184-pound defenseman split the majority of his first professional season between the Trois-Rivières Lions and Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL, combining for 14 points (2+12) in 45 games.
Laaouan has totaled eight goals and 27 assists for 37 points in 102 appearances at the ECHL level with Atlanta, Trois-Rivières, and Jacksonville since the star of the 2022-23 campaign. He also has two points in six contests at the AHL level with Rochester and Tucson.
Prior to turning pro, he spent five seasons in the QMJHL with Cape Breton and Charlottetown, logging 31 goals and 134 assists in 165 games from 2017-22. He also registered 19 points (4+15) in 32 postseason contests.
Houser returns to the organization for his fifth season dating back to the start of the 2020-21 season. In 43 career appearances with Rochester, he shows an 18-16-3 record, 2.88 goals-against average and one shutout.
The 31-year-old netminder was named the organization’s Rob Zabelny Unsung Hero after finishing 2022-23 with a 9-8-1 mark and a 2.80 goals-against average in 21 games with the Amerks. In addition to recording his first shutout with Rochester, he also tallied an assist, both of which were his first since the 2014-15 campaign.
A native of Youngstown, Ohio, the 12-year pro netminder has compiled a 50-41-9 record in 116 games as well as four shutouts at the AHL level with Rochester, Tucson, Cleveland, Ontario, and San Antonio. Additionally, he boasts a 143-76-25 record and 13 shutouts in 251 career ECHL games between the Cincinnati Cyclones, Manchester Monarchs, Fort Wayne Komets and Jacksonville Icemen.
In six career appearances with the Sabres, Houser posted four wins to go with a .917 save percentage and a 2.98 goals-against average.
During the 2020-21 season, Houser made his NHL debut with a 34-save effort on May 3 to earn his first career victory. He was just the seventh goaltender in Sabres history to record a win in his first start. Two nights following his victory over the New York Islanders, Houser won his second straight contest as he stopped 45 shots he faced against the Islanders, becoming the first Buffalo goaltender to win his first two NHL starts since Mika Noronen did so on Oct. 5 and 7, 2000.
Houser’s best year came in 2018-19 when he showed a 29-7-5 record in 41 appearances while backstopping Cincinnati to an ECHL-best 51-13-5-3 mark during the regular season. He finished the season ranked second in the ECHL with a 2.13 goals-against average and fourth with a .922 save percentage, while his 29 wins tied for most in the league. Following the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, Houser was named the ECHL Goaltender of the Year and was selected to the ECHL First All-Star Team.
Prior to turning pro, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound goaltender spent three seasons with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. In 141 games for the Knights, he showed a record of 93-38-7 along with seven shutouts, a 2.90 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.