Mark Zengerle was Almost a Rochester American

The Amerks made an attempt to improve offensive depth on Thursday by signing Rochester native Mark Zengerle (in the middle of the picture above). Unfortunately the Milwaukee Admirals claimed him off of waivers playing the role of spoiler for the homecoming. The 28 year old forward started the season in Sweden after the three previous seasons in The AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins and Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

He lead the Phantoms to a 4-2 win over the Amerks last December with two goals.

An attempt to sign a depth forward by Amerks GM Randy Sexton early in the month of November as the team has been winning some games is a good sign to the commitment for success to continue. Unfortunately another team played spoiler.

Last season with the Phantons he had 13 goals and 21 assists in 69 games. He’s also experienced playoff hockey the last three seasons as well.

Offensive depth for the Amerks is a concern for the long season ahead with the inevitable injuries and call ups that’ll occur. Adding a player like Zengerle would have added some additional stability. Another added benefit is that he wouldn’t have counted against the vet rules that exist.