Vladar to the World Juniors, Patterson Re-signed

The Boston Bruins have reassigned goalie Dan Vladar to the Providence Bruins of the AHL in order to loan him to the Czech Republic Under-20 National Team. In a separate transaction, the Gladiators signed goalie Kent Patterson to a standard professional contract, the team announced Tuesday.

Vladar heads overseas to the Czech Republic to prepare to represent his home country in the prestigious Under-20 World Junior Championships. This year’s tournament will be held both in Toronto and Montreal from December 26th through January 5th and features the best hockey players from around the world under the age of 20. This is the second time the 19-year-old goaltender will represent the Czech Republic as he was also named to the Czech roster last season.

Patterson, 27, returns to Atlanta for his third stint with the Gladiators after starting the season in Rapid City of the ECHL. The former 4th round pick (113th overall) of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft appeared in 32 games last season for the Glads finishing with goals-against average of 2.97 and save percentage of .901. The 5th year pro and former University of Minnesota stand-out has managed a career record of 64-59-24 in the AHL, CHL and ECHL.

The Atlanta Gladiators 14th season continues at the Infinite Energy Arena on Friday, December 23rd against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at 7:35 PM. For ticket information, visit the official team website at www.atlantagladiators.com or call the main office line at 770-497-5100.The Gladiators are members of the ECHL, the nation’s premier "AA" hockey league. All home games are played at the 11,355-seat Infinite Energy Arena, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth – where parking is always free. The Gladiators have established an unrivaled commitment to excellence, maintaining a distinctive reputation for affordable and family-friendly sports entertainment and consistently ranked as one of the top “Things To Do” in the Atlanta area and across the North Georgia region.For all the latest team news, contests, and more visit AtlantaGladiators.com, or “like” the Gladiators on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AtlantaGladiators), follow the team on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ATLGladiators), Instagram (www.instagram.com/atlgladiators) or Snapchat (www.snapchat.com) at "gladshockey".