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K-WINGS ANNOUNCE SERIES OF TRANSACTIONS

Tuesday, February 25th
K-WINGS ANNOUNCE SERIES OF TRANSACTIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 25, 2020

K-WINGS ANNOUNCE SERIES OF TRANSACTIONS

Kalamazoo acquires Matt Berry from Utah, Boston Leier loaned to Charlotte, among several roster moves.

KALAMAZOO, MI – The Kalamazoo Wings, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, announced several roster transactions Tuesday ahead of the team’s 7:00 p.m. game against the Fort Wayne Komets at Wings Event Center.

Kalamazoo acquired the rights to forward Matt Berry from the Utah Grizzlies in exchange for future considerations. The K-Wings also signed forward Reid Sturos and goaltender Dave DeSander, pending league approval upon their arrival.

Additionally, Kalamazoo loaned Boston Leier to the American Hockey League’s Charlotte Checkers, who signed the forward to a professional tryout. Lastly, the K-Wings released forward Chad McDonald from his standard player contract.

Berry, 27, joins the K-Wings and is expected to make his 2019-20 season debut tonight after splitting the 2018-19 campaign with the Grizzlies and the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. The Michigan State University alumn from Canton, Michigan posted 13 goals and 22 points in 20 games for Utah, as well as four goals and 18 points in 42 games for San Diego last season. In 170 career ECHL games, Berry has average nearly a point per game, compiling 67 goals and 165 points in parts of five seasons with Norfolk, Utah and Florida.

Sturos, 27, last played professionally when he appeared in nine games at the end of the 2016-17 season for the AHL’s Texas Stars, picking up two assists. The South Lyon, Michigan native spent four college seasons at Michigan Tech from 2013-17, where he totaled 29 goals and 76 points in 149 games for the Huskies.

DeSander, 36, returns to the K-Wings for the fourth time since 2015-16 on the heels of goaltender Jake Kielly heading up to the AHL’s Utica Comets yesterday. DeSander appeared in one AHL game for the Iowa Wild during the 2014-15 season.

Leier, 26, had 10 goals and 19 points in 29 games for Kalamazoo, overcoming a series of injuries to help lead the K-Wings as one of the team’s assistant captains. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native, played in 42 AHL games for the Belleville Senators from 2018-19, where he had five goals and 12 points.

McDonald, 27, scored one goal and added two assists in eight games in an emergency role for Kalamazoo. The Battle Creek, Michgan native retired at the end of the 2018-19 season to return to school.

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The Kalamazoo Wings are a professional hockey team located in southwest Michigan that has been a staple in the Kalamazoo, MI professional sports landscape since 1974. The K-Wings compete in the ECHL and are the AA affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks. Kalamazoo plays their 36 regular season home games at Wings Event Center from October through April.

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