The next newspaper clipping I found on a Spruce Kings alumni is for Bryan Adams (no it isn't from the Summer of '69) as he was getting ready to start playing professionally with an expansion NHL team - the Atlanta Thrashers. Of course the Thrashers are no longer in Atlanta after the franchise moved north of the border to become the new Winnipeg Jets in 2011. This article is circa 1997 and is presented here as it appeared in the Prince George Citizen.
Former Prince George Spruce King signs two-year deal with expansion Atlanta
by Ted Clarke, Citizen Staff
Don't be surprised if Bryan Adams picks up a bit of a Southern drawl over the next few years; where he's going, that just comes with the territory.
The 22 year old former Prince George Spruce Kings left winger has agreed to terms on a two-year contract with the NHL's newest team - the Atlanta Thrashers.
"The contract is on the way and it's a done deal," said Adams' mother Alice from the family home in Fort St. James. "He's very happy with it and so are we."
Adams is still in Lansing, Michigan attending summer classes at Michigan State University. He was on a fishing trip and could not be reached for comment Friday.
Alice Adams said Montreal and Dallas were the other NHL teams that expressed interest in signing Adams as a free agent. On the advice of former Buffalo Sabres/Los Angles Kings defenceman Larry Playfair, who lives in Fort St. James, Adams hooked up with agent Jeff Solomon of California, who helped negotiate the deal June 2.
"I think he was a bit intimidated going to Montreal," she said. "They have a lot of depth in Montreal and it's a new team in Atlanta. The management there is very strong and (Playfair) feels they will be very fair to the players."
The six-foot, 182-pound Adams was the second leading scorer on the Spartans with 21 goals and 16 assists in 42 games. As an assistant captain he led the Spartans to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association title. The Spartans' season ended at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, where they lost 5-3 to New Hampshire in the NCAA Frozen Four semi-final.
The Thrashers will fly Adams and the other rookie prospects who have no pro experience to Atlanta July 5 to meet team officials. They begin play in their first season in October and have promised Alice and her husband Bill an all-expenses paid trip there if and when he plays his first NHL game.
"We hope it will be this winter," Alice said.
The Thrashers top farm team will be the Orlando Solar Bears of the International League. So either way, the family's first road trip of the season will be to someplace warm.
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