FAMILIAR FACES AND PHYSICAL PRESENCE ON WOLVES MENU

Thunder Bay, ON- With the annual UFA bidding process near complete in the CCHL, the Thunder Bay Timberwolves have completed their end of the process by adding some depth and familiar faces to their 2010-11 lineup.
>>>Prior to the bidding wars, Blake Wendt and his management team added a major impact player to their roster for years to come.
>>>Coming to the Superior Lakehead from the Rocky Mountains is Milan Lucic (pictured). Wendt stated that the bruising winger from Vancouver, B.C. has been on his radar for a long time.
>>>"I'd say in the last couple years, I've made at least a handful of offers to Denver for Lucic," said Wendt. "He brings an added dimension to our lineup that we've not had since I arrived here. He keeps the opposition honest and throws his weight around. Beyond that, he's one heck of a skilled hockey player. Skates very well for a big guy. Has decent hands, can finesse his shots or blast them with a hard heavy shot. Acquiring Lucic really rounds out our lineup."
>>>With what is expected to be the showcase of the Timberwolves young pups next season, Wendt played it safe during the first round of the UFA bidding. Initially adding only forwards, Taylor Pyatt and Dean McAmmond.
>>>Pyatt, a Thunder Bay-native spent most of last season in Duluth, Minnesota playing for the Timberwolves minor-league affiliate Pups. With a previous contract ballooning near $2 million a season, Wendt could not justifying such an investment for a depth player. Pyatt was signed off the market for $600,000 for one year.
>>>McAmmond has become very familiar with being acquired and being traded by Thunder Bay. Officially this is the Grand Cache, Alberta-natives third stint with the Timberwolves in two seasons. He was traded on February 23rd to Linz for prospect defenseman, Jason Garrison. Garrison is expected to fight for a big league spot this next season.
>>>The second round of the UFA bidding brought a veteren presence to the Timberwolves blueline. Picking up Adam Foote for one year at $3,750,000.
>>>"Adding someone like Foote is huge for this hockey club," said Wendt. "Not only does he shore up our third pairing, but in the room he brings a wealth of knowledge from the game and just life in general for our young players. The future success of our blueliners will likely be directly accredited to Adam Foote when we all look back."
>>>In Other News...
>>>Prospect, Anders Lee completed his first and only USHL season by leading his Green Bay Gamblers to the Clark Cup. Lee led the Gamblers in playoff scoring with 10 goals and 22 points. The Edina, Minnesota-native was named the USHL playoff MVP. He will head to the University of Notre Dame in the fall.

WOLVES RE-TOOL PROSPECT POOL

Thunder Bay, ON- With the first wave of the UFA bidding process set to hit shore on Wednesday, the Timberwolves looked to their group of prospects to address some needs up front before their bids go out.

>>>Ryan O'Reilly (pictured) and Taylor Beck were acquired from the Dayton Musicmen for Derek Stepan, Matt Corrente and Nick Petrecki.

>>>Stepan's stock has risen since the University of Wisconsin forwarded captained Team USA to gold at the World Junior Championships in January. For Timberwolves management, this accomplishment was instrumental in his value.

>>>"First of all, the players we've moved out today are excellent hockey players and exceptional young men. I have no doubt that they will have success in the pros in the very near future, and we wish them the best of luck," said Timberwolves general manager, Blake Wendt.

>>>"To address the players we're bringing in, I for one am very excited. Ryan O'Reilly fits the Timberwolves-mold to a tee. He was a leader at Erie (Otters; OHL) and plays a complete game. He's a very smart player and thinks the game on a level that makes him very dangerous for the opposition. We're hoping he commits himself over the summer and competes to the standards we know he will to fight for a spot in our lineup come fall. We're also very excited to being bringing in Taylor Beck from the Guelph Storm. We've had a chance to watch Taylor alot while keeping tabs on our other guys (Michael) Latta and (Adam) Comrie with Guelph. Taylor really picked up his game this season and led the Storm in scoring. He's got some work with his skating, but we're not at all worried about that. He's managed very well in the toughest junior league in the world. The same flaws with Beck are the same mentioned with (John) Tavares. Again, we're not worried and are looking forward to the day that he's wearing the blue and white."