3 members of Monsters Calder Cup title team return to The Q

By foxsports
Published

CLEVELAND – The AHL’s defending Calder Cup Champions, the Cleveland Monsters, proudly powered by Constellation, announced Thursday that the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets assigned goaltender Anton Forsberg and left wings Markus Hannikainen and Sonny Milano to Cleveland. All three players were members of the Monsters’ 2016 Calder Cup Championship roster.

A 6’2”, 191 lb. native of Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, Forsberg, 22, tied a Monsters franchise record for wins during the 2015-16 regular-season, going 23-10-5 with two shutouts, a 2.40 goals-against average (GAA) and a .914 save percentage (S%) in 41 appearances before posting a perfect 9-0 record with two shutouts, a 1.34 GAA and a .949 S% in the Calder Cup Playoffs. In four appearances for the Blue Jackets last season, Forsberg, a seventh round pick (188th overall) by Columbus in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, supplied a 1-3-0 record with a 3.03 GAA and a .907 S%.

An undrafted, left-handed native of Helsinki, Finland, Hannikainen, 23, notched 7-13-20 with 20 penalty minutes and a +6 rating in 50 appearances for Cleveland last season and posted 3-7-10 with two penalty minutes and a +12 rating in 16 postseason appearances during the Monsters’ title run. Additionally, the 6’2”, 189 lb. winger logged a -2 rating in four appearances for the Blue Jackets last season, his first career NHL action.

Selected by Columbus in the first round (16th overall) in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Milano, 20, contributed 14-17-31 with 22 penalty minutes and a +12 rating in 54 appearances for the Monsters during the 2015-16 regular season. A 6’1”, 205 lb. left-handed native of Massapequa, NY, Milano chipped in 4-4-8 with four penalty minutes and a +6 rating in 17 postseason appearances for Cleveland and notched his first NHL point, an assist, along with a +1 rating in three late-season appearances for the Blue Jackets last year.

The Monsters drop the puck on their 10th Anniversary Season and begin their defense of the Calder Cup with a “Championship Celebration Weekend” when they take on the Rockford IceHogs in back-to-back games on Friday, October 14th at 7:00 pm and Saturday, October 15th at 5:00 pm at Quicken Loans Arena. The historic weekend celebration will begin at Friday’s opening night game when fans in attendance will experience the raising of the Monsters’ Calder Cup Championship banner. On Saturday, the first 10,000 fans will receive a magnetic Calder Cup 2016-17 Monsters regular-season schedule. There will also be an outdoor Fan Fest on Gateway Plaza prior to each game (starting at 5:00 pm on Friday and 3:00 pm on Saturday) with the opportunity for fans to take a photo with the Calder Cup. Full coverage of the Monsters’ “Championship Celebration Weekend,” live from The Q, begins at 7:00 pm on Friday, October 14th on 99X.

Tickets for every Monsters home game start at just $10 and are on sale now! Full and partial season ticket memberships are also available and provide you with the best seat locations, custom member benefits and the lowest ticket prices. Group outing and birthday bash packages for 10 or more people are also on sale now. All tickets can be purchased by visiting ClevelandMonsters.com, calling (216) 420-0000, visiting The Q Box Office or any Northern Ohio Discount Drug Mart. Be sure to follow the Monsters on Twitter @monstershockey, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/monstershockey, and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/monstershockey.

The Cleveland Monsters are part of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena organization and also owned by a group led by Cavaliers Majority Owner and Quicken Loans Founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert. The group also owns and operates the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League playing at Quicken Loans Arena and the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League playing in nearby Canton, Ohio at the Canton Civic Center.

(Cleveland Monsters press release)