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Calling on Koehler, J.J. Signs With RiverKings

Another speedy sniper starts shooting at CHL goalies in Mississippi

August 18, 2010

SOUTHAVEN --- The Mississippi RiverKings of the Central Hockey League (CHL) today announced the team has signed rookie forward J.J. Koehler (pronounced KAY-ler) to the roster for the upcoming season.

Koehler’s signing now brings to 13 the number of announced additions to the roster for the 2010-11 season. He becomes the eighth forward signed by the team.

The five-six, 165-pound Koehler comes to the RiverKings for his first taste of professional hockey after completing a four-year NCAA Division I career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. It was there that he was a teammate of current RiverKing Ryan Kretzer for the past two seasons.

In his career with the Mavericks, the Colgate, Wisc., native scored 11 goals and totaled 23 points in 94 career collegiate games. His best season in Omaha came in the 2007-08 year, when Koehler scored six goals and added eight assists in 34 contests.

However, Koehler showed more of what he can do when playing in the junior ranks, where he competed for two years with the Lincoln (Nebraska) Stars of the United States Hockey League and the Bismarck (North Dakota) Bobcats of the North American Hockey League.

RiverKings head coach and director of Hockey Operations Kevin “Killer” Kaminski commented, “J. J. will bring great vision, work ethic and grit, along with some soft hands. He has great determination and the attitude to do whatever it takes to get the job done.”

His most productive junior season came in the 2005-06 campaign in Lincoln, when he scored career highs of 24 goals, 26 assists and 50 points in 59 appearances with the Stars. He added three goals and eight points in nine playoff games in Lincoln that season.

Koehler finished third on the Stars’ roster for points that year, second in goals scored, and third in assists as Lincoln finished tied for second in the USHL’s West Division and reached the West Division playoff semi-finals.

Koehler was named a USHL All-Star during his junior career in Lincoln.

In 119 career Lincoln games, Koehler scored 38 goals and added 44 assists for 82 points. He added nine goals and 37 points in his first junior season with Bismarck.

Koehler looks to bring RiverKings’ fans the energy and effectiveness he showed in the junior ranks.

“l’m a solid forward and I bring a lot of energy,” Koehler said. “I’m a high-energy kind of player.

“I think the pro game is more like the junior game and I think it’s going to be a better transition for me,” he continued. “I’ve heard he (Kaminski) is a hard-nosed, old-school type of coach who likes to have his teams bang around with a lot of high energy, so

That’s a style of game I’m looking forward to playing.”