Former Gladiator Stuart makes Thrashers debut

ATLANTA - Former Gwinnett Gladiator Colin Stuart became the fourth player to advance to the National Hockey League after playing for the Gladiators after appearing in the Atlanta Thrashers 5-0 win against the Boston Bruins Saturday night at Phillips Arena.

Stuart recorded his first career NHL point in his NHL debut last night collecting an assist on Pascal Dupuis' first period goal. He finished the last night's game with one assist and a plus-two rating while appearing in 12:45 of ice time.

Stuart has appeared in 29 games with the Wolves this season where he has collected 3 goals and 3 assists for 6 points while amassing 18 penalty minutes.

The Oak Park, Illinois native appeared in five games with the Gladiators during his rookie season in 2004-05 posting a goal and 3 assists for four points with Gwinnett. During his first three professional seasons, Stuart also appeared in a 178 career American Hockey League games with the Chicago Wolves notching 61 points.

Stuart joins Adam Munro (Chicago), Adam Berkhoel (Atlanta) and Michael Garnett (Atlanta) who all played for the Gladiators before appearing in the National Hockey League.

The Gladiators continue their fifth anniversary season on Sunday, December 30th as they travel to North Charleston, South Carolina to take on the South Carolina Stingrays at 4:05 p.m. at the North Charleston Coliseum. Catch all the play-by-play action in Sunday's game online via AccessNorthGa.com on Access raiod streamming channel 3.

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary as the Premier 'AA' Hockey League in 2007-08, the ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in three states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league that has 25 teams in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08. The 25 teams includes the Mississippi (Biloxi) Sea Wolves, who return after missing two seasons in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the expansion Elmira (N.Y.) Jackals. The ECHL will play 900 games beginning Oct. 18 and concluding Apr. 5.

The Gwinnett Gladiators continue their fifth season as a proud member of the ECHL - season ticket packages are on sale now. In addition, the Gladiators offer several unique multi-game ticket packages as well as discounted group rates, suite rentals, and birthday parties. For more information call 770-497-5100 or log on to gwinnettgladiators.com.

The Gladiators are the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers and play all home games at the spectacular 11,355-seat Arena at Gwinnett Center, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, where parking is always free.