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April 13, 2005North Stars sign first three playersNew Traverse City junior team may also get area rivalByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - The Traverse City North Stars have their first three official players. The team announced the signing of centers Patrick Nagorsen and Ryan Bond and winger Tommy Higgins on Tuesday. The North Stars are also on the verge of acquiring a rival, as the Toledo Ice Diggers of the North American Hockey League are close to completing a deal to move to Alpena. "We're just trying to wrap up the last few details with Northern Lights Arena," Ice Diggers coach and general manager Mike Mankowski said. "We hope to sign (today)." Mankowski said the relocation was brought up to the board of governors recently and there was no opposition. A team in Alpena would help soften the blow of the apparent demise of the Soo Indians, the only other NAHL team in the state. If the Indians manage to stay afloat, a natural rivalry between Traverse City, the Soo and Alpena could be a boon for all of three teams. Toledo drew an average of only 495 spectators in its 28 home games this season, but set franchise single-game attendance marks when two late-season games were played in Alpena in March, drawing 852 and 975 fans to games played on a Sunday and Monday. "We haven't signed the final deal yet, but it's looking really good," said Norm Sommerfeld, facilities manager for Northern Light Arena. Sommerfeld was the manager of the Otsego County Sportsplex when the NAHL Gaylord Grizzlies played there. The team eventually left after a dispute with the team owner, moving to Grand Rapids before being taken over by the league and folding. "I feel more confident in this ownership," Sommerfeld said. "I learned some lessons from the Grizzlies." Nagorsen, who just finished his senior year at Orchard Lake St. Mary's, was runner-up in this year's Mr. Hockey voting. Nagorsen, 5-9, 170, had a goal and an assist in St. Mary's Division 3 state championship win over Flint Powers. He had a goal and two assists in the Eagles' win over No. 1-ranked Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook in regionals. "Nagorsen is going to be a heck of a hockey player for us," North Stars coach and general manager Scott Gardiner said. Bond and Higgins were teammates for the Toledo Cherokee team that went 26-16-6 and qualified for the USA Hockey Junior "B" National Tournament. Higgins - a big, bruising winger at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds - scored 18 goals and added 17 assists in 47 games for the Cherokee, picking up 166 penalty minutes in the process. He had a pair of short-handed goals. Northville native Bond - a smallish center at 5-11, 165 - has a lot of speed and plays well on specialty units. He had six goals and 21 assists for the Cherokee, picking up half of his goals on the power-play and adding a short-handed tally. Mankowski said he had kept an eye on both of them and was considering them for the Ice Diggers - especially Higgins, who is a Toledo native. "I think they should both be great pickups," Mankowski said. "Bond is a speedy, hard-working type of forward. Higgins is a kid who goes to the net hard, and he'll drop the gloves if he needs to." Gardiner said he hopes to finalize tenders with two more forwards by the end of the week. Each team is allowed to sign 10 players to tenders, excluding that player from the league draft, set for May 17. The North Stars have five picks in the draft. The remainder of the players will come from various tryouts. The team will conduct one May 13-15 at Centre ICE to evaluate about 100 players who could be drafted. The event is open to the public. Following the draft, the North Stars will have tryouts in Nashville May 20-22, Detroit June 3-5 and Chicago June 17-19 before an invitation-only camp July 22-24 in Traverse City for 40-50 players. The camp will be conducted much like the Detroit Red Wings training camp, with practice sessions in the mornings and games in the afternoon. With 10 tendered players and five draft picks, another 10 spots on the 25-man roster will be available, although Gardiner said that none of the tendered or drafted players are guaranteed a roster spot and can be beaten out for a spot on the team.
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