Komets sign Pochiro | Bobby Shea returning to Fort Wayne

Fort Wayne, IN-- The Fort Wayne Komets announced Wednesday that forward Zach Pochiro has agreed to terms for the upcoming season.  Defenseman Bobby Shea will be returning to Fort Wayne after a two-year absence and goaltender Thomas Proudlock has signed a tryout agreement.

Pochiro, 26, finished third in the ECHL in goals scored with 34 during the 2018-2019 season while playing for the Allen Americans.  Last season the 6’1 forward skated in Demark with Esbjerg Energy where he tallied 34 points with 133 penalty minutes in 41 games.  A fourth-round draft pick of his hometown St. Louis Blues in 2013, Pochiro has played portions of six seasons in the ECHL with Kalamazoo, Alaska, Quad City, Norfolk and two seasons with Allen.  Pochiro has played in 254 professional games including five in the AHL. 

“Zach is your typical power forward, he plays with an edge, will go into the dirty areas, the traits the Komets fans have come to love,” said Head Coach Ben Boudreau. “His resume speaks for itself with a proven track record of scoring big goals in any league he has played.  Zach is an exciting player to watch and we expect him to be a big part of our offense this season.”

Shea, 30, will be returning to Fort Wayne after a season in Beijing, China playing for former Komets head coach Gary Graham. The Harrison Township, Michigan native did not play in 2018-2019 after manning the Komets blueline from 2016-2018. Shea made his ECHL debut at the end of the 2012-2013 season with Reading helping the Royals to a Kelly Cup championship.  Since then the sturdy defenseman has collected 596 penalty minutes during his time in the ECHL and AHL.  Shea will occupy the Komets third veteran position on the roster joining Shawn Szydlowski and A.J. Jenks.  

“This is a very important signing for us. Bobby was an integral part of our defensive core group that lead the Komets to game seven of the conference final,” said Head Coach Ben Boudreau.  “His veteran presence is the perfect addition to add to our promising core of defensemen.  He has the ability to control the game both offensively and defensively.  His rugged style of game is well known in the jungle and someone we can lean on in any situation.”  

Thomas Proudlock, 23, will be entering his first pro training camp under a tryout agreement.  The 6’0 netminder spent the last five seasons with the University of Michigan-Dearborn posting a career best 1.53 goals against average in 2018-2019.

“With our latest signings we continue to add quality and impactful players to our talented roster,” said General Manager David Franke. “During the pandemic we have continued to work the phones and do our due diligence in recruiting players. We look forward to assembling for training camp and the start of the season on December 4th.”

The Komets now have twenty players under contract for the upcoming season. 

See Komets pre-season roster

Season tickets for the 2020-21 season are on sale now at the Komets office at 1010 Memorial Way.  For more information call 260-483-0011