RAFFERTY NAMED CCM/AHL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH
Jan 2, 2020The American Hockey League announced today that Bridgeport Sound Tigers forward Kieffer Bellows, Utica Comets defenseman Brogan Rafferty and Chicago Wolves goaltender Oscar Dansk have been selected as the league’s award winners for December.
Rafferty, the CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month, registered three goals and 13 assists for 16 points in 13 games played during December.
Rafferty notched two assists in Utica’s 5-3 loss at Toronto on Dec. 1, then recorded a goal and two assists in the third period of a 6-3 win at Bridgeport on Dec. 9. He dished out two more assists to help the Comets past Toronto, 6-4, on Dec. 11, and he picked up a goal and two assists as Utica defeated Laval, 5-3, on Dec. 20. A two-assist effort in a 4-3 win at Rochester on Dec. 21 marked Rafferty’s third consecutive multiple-point game and his sixth overall during December, and he closed out the month with a goal in a 3-2 victory over the Americans on Dec. 31.
Rafferty ranks third in the entire AHL with 25 assists, leads all league defensemen with 30 points and is first among AHL rookies with a plus-17 rating in 34 games with the Comets this season. The 24-year-old native of West Dundee, Ill., signed as a free agent with Vancouver on Apr. 1, 2019, following his junior season at Quinnipiac University and made his pro debut with the Canucks, appearing in two NHL games late in 2018-19.
Each monthly award winner will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming home game in recognition of his achievement.