Admirals ink Tom McCollum to AHL deal
Milwaukee, WI—The Milwaukee Admirals announced today that the team has signed goaltender Tom McCollum to an AHL Contract for the 2018-19 season.
McCollum has spent the majority of his career with the Grand Rapids Griffins, winning the Calder Cup with the club in 2013, and totaling a 123-105-9 record with a 2.76 goals against average, a .906 save percentage, and eight shutouts in eight seasons in Grand Rapids. Last season the Sanborn, NY native netted a 20-14-3 mark with a 2.64 GAA and a .912 save % in 37 games with the Griffs.
McCollum has been a proverbial thorn in the Admirals side since entering the AHL in 2009, going 13-5-2 with a miniscule 2.14 GAA in 22 games against Milwaukee. Last season alone he was 4-0-1, allowing just eight goals in five contests and stopping 94.5% of the shots he faced.
A first-round pick of Detroit (#30 overall) in the 2008 NHL Draft, McCollum has three games of NHL experience all with the Red Wings, earning his first NHL win on January 18, 2015 in a 6-4 victory over Buffalo. Prior to turning pro he played three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League and was named to the 3rd OHL All-Star Team in 2007 and 2008 and the 2nd OHL All-Star Team in 2009 when he helped the Brampton Battalion make it to the Finals where they fell to a Windsor club that included Admiral Alums Ryan Ellis and Austin Watson.
McCollum gained notoriety last season in Milwaukee after he loaned his truck to then-Admirals forward PC Labrie in order for Labrie to make the four-hour trip back to Milwaukee through a snow storm to witness the birth of his first child.
McCollum and the Admirals will kick off the season in Austin against the Stars on October 6, with the home opener set for October 13 at 6 pm at Panther Arena.