Western Michigan Goalie May Replace Lemanowicz Magliarditi, 20, To Join Chiefs At Training Camp On Aug. 23

The Spokane Chiefs will go to training camp next month with a 20-year-old goaltender after all.

Convinced that veteran David Lemanowicz will be lost to the Florida Panthers organization, the Chiefs will bring Marc Magliarditi from Western Michigan University to training camp on Aug. 23.

Magliarditi, who turned 20 on Tuesday, will forgo his sophomore year at Western Michigan to play major junior hockey, a move he said will better prepare him for a pro career.

“I’m excited,” Magliarditi said Wednesday from his parents’ home in Niagara Falls, N.Y. “Coach (Mike) Babcock mentioned there are as many as 18 returnees from a strong team last year. I’d like to play for and win a Memorial Cup. A goaltender grows with pressure games.”

Magliarditi, 6-foot and 177 pounds, was a sixth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1995 National Hockey League entry draft. Described as a stand-up style goalie adept at playing the puck, he posted a 2.59 goals-against average with a .920 saves percentage in 36 games at Western Michigan.

He attended Nichols High School in Buffalo, played a year of Junior A Tier II in Des Moines, Iowa, and was one of two goaltenders on the U.S. team at last year’s World Junior Tournament.

Placed on the Chiefs’ 50-man protected list last summer, Magliarditi’s stock rose in December when Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz and Babcock flew to Las Vegas to watch him against Bowling Green. The game was part of the Las Vegas Bowl football promotion.

“He played very well that night,” Speltz said. “We saw some things we liked. He battled. He looked like a good skater. He comes in with accolades as long as your arm.”

Magliarditi posted a 23-11-1 record with five shutouts last year as a freshman.

“Talk to a major junior coach and he’ll tell you his game is better than the college game,” Magliarditi said. “Talk to a college coach and he’ll say his game is better. I think it depends on the team and the program. But major junior hockey turns out a ton of pro players. It’s more of a pro-style game - tighter checking, no two-line passes, more games.”

The addition of Magliarditi gives the Western Hockey League club two solid goaltenders, Speltz said.

“From what Florida has told me, and knowing how David feels about his opportunity with them, we would be too optimistic thinking Lemanowicz will be back,” Speltz said. “Florida has given us every indication that they will find a place for him in their organization.”

That would leave the job to Magliarditi and 18-year-old Aren Miller.

The WHL’s 72-game regular season, plus playoffs, is a “big-time grind” on a netminder, Speltz said.

“The last two years, we probably used our No. 1 guy a little too much,” Speltz said. “We now have two excellent guys we can go to.”

Magliarditi said he’s looking forward to fitting into Babcock’s system, with the emphasis on defense and toughness at both ends.

, DataTimes