McGill grad Urquhart scores on first shift in AHL Nov 03, 08 Ice Hockey (M)

By Earl Zukerman

MONTREAL – Defenceman David Urquhart, who captained the McGill Redmen to the Queen’s Cup championship last spring, scored on his first shift in the American Hockey League, last Saturday, sparking the Hartford Wolf Pack to a 3-1 victory over Albany.

Urquhart, an emergency call up from Charlotte of the East Coast Hockey League earlier in the day, took a pass from Artem Anisimov in the left circle, skated in untouched and rifled a shot past goaltender Daniel Manzato only 28 seconds into the game for his first pro goal after having earned five assists in seven games with the ECHL’s Checkers.

“That was a pretty nifty shot under the crossbar,” said Ken Gernander, head coach of the Wolf Pack. “And I thought he moved the puck well. He snapped his passes as opposed to just pushing them. In training camp we saw his skating ability, but I think the jump (from McGill University) was so great that he just needed a little time to assimilate himself to the pace of pro hockey.”

It is uncertain as to how long the 6-foot, 190-pound Urquhart, a 23-year-old native of Thorold, Ont., will stay put with Hartford, the top farm team of the New York Rangers, as he and Andreas Jamtin were called up to replace Brian Fahey and Dane Byers, both injured in a 4-2 loss to Worcester last Friday.

Urquhart graduated from McGill last spring with a management degree and had planned on returning to study law when Hartford offered him a contract over the summer. He is one of two McGill grads currently in the AHL, joining Mathieu Darche, who spent most of last season in the NHL with Tampa Bay, and captained the Redmen in 1999-00. Darche currently has five points in eight games with the Portland Pirates, the top affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres.

McGill, known more for its academic reputation, has produced 44 players for the pro hockey ranks over the last quarter-century, including five who have skated in the AHL and one in the NHL.