Utah Grizzlies head coach and General Manager Tim Branham announced Friday that the team has signed defenseman Ray Macias and that goaltender Igor Bobkov has been reassigned to the team by the Anaheim Ducks from the Norfolk Admirals.
Macias, 28, becomes the third player in the last week to join the Grizzlies with NHL experience joining Brandon Yip and Steve MacIntyre. He was selected in the fourth round of the NHL Entry Draft by Colorado in 2005 and made his NHL debut with the Avalanche on April 3, 2009. Overall, he appeared in seven games with Colorado and 178 games with its AHL affiliate in Lake Erie from 2008-2011, totaling 18 goals and 47 assists for 62 points. Macias has played 51 ECHL games, including 38 while Branham was the Reading Royals assistant coach in 2011-12 where he had six goals and 14 assists for 20 points.
Bobkov, 24, returns to the Grizzlies after winning his only start with the Admirals during the two-week stay. He has been recalled to the Ducks twice this year and is 3-3-1 in seven starts with the Grizzlies. Last season, Bobkov led Utah with a 17-8-4 record, a 2.04 goals-against-average, which ranked second overall in the ECHL, and had a .921 save percentage.
Utah returns to action this weekend unbeaten in seven-straight games at 5-0-2-0, 7-2-2-1 in its last 12 games and unbeaten in nine of its last 11 games at home.
The Grizzlies open a two-game series when the Bakersfield Condors make their first trip to Utah since last year’s playoffs Friday night.