Brahmas sign center Brian Ihnacak

Former Pittsburgh Penguins prospect will play tonight against the Killer Bees

The Texas Brahmas have signed center Brian Ihnacak to the roster today according to Pointstreak. Ihnacak, 25, signed with the Mississippi RiverKings on November 30th and played 16 games, registering six points (2 G, 4 A) and eight penalty minutes before he was placed on waivers on January 12th. Both of his goals were game winners, on December 17th against Evansville and on January 2nd in a shootout against Bossier-Shreveport.

Ihnacak, the son of former Toronto Maple Leafs' forward Peter Ihnacak and the nephew of former Toronto and Detroit player Miroslav Ihnacak, (pronounced in-a-chak) was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the ninth round (# 259 overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Ihnacak played in the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League with the St. Michael's Buzzers, where he won the leading scorer award for the team after posting a 86 point season (40 G, 46 A) in 46 games during the 2002-03 season. His 40 goals was a St. Michael's record. He was named an OPJHL All-Star, Most Improved Player, and was a runner-up for the MVP after he tallied the winning goal in the 2003 OPJHL All-Star Game. Ihnacak also participated with the Slovakian Under-18 team at the 2003 World Cup, finishing the tournament ranked 10th in scoring.

All-Rookie Team. One of his teammates at Brown was Brahmas Ihnacak went on to play for four years (2003-07) at Brown University, scoring 76 points (28 G, 48 A) in 103 games played. He was one of the most successful rookies in Bears history, registering 30 points (10 G, 20 A) and 20 PIM, earning the Kevin R. Pope Memorial Trophy, given to the team's most outstanding rookie, as voted by his teammates. He was also named the 2004 Co-ECAC Rookie of the Year (shared with David McKee) and was named to the ECACdefenseman Sean Hurley. The two played together for three seasons.

He went pro in 2007-08, opting to play in the Slovakian Extraliga. He tallied 19 points (9 G, 10 A) and 77 penalty minutes in 37 games with MHK Kezmarok.

In 2008-09, Ihnacak played for Augusta and Elmira in the ECHL, with most of the time spent with the Elmira Jackals where he was a teammate of Brahmas left wing Mike Sgroi. He tallied 15 points (7 G, 8 A) and 34 PIM in a combined 46 games.

He returned to the Slovakia Extraliga last season, playing for three teams (MHK Kezmarok, HKM Zvolen, and HK SKP Poprad) and combining for six points (2 G, 4 A) and 20 PIM.

Ihnacak attended the Bloomington PrairieThunder's training camp in October but did not make the final roster.

The only video I could find was this hit on former NHL right wing Ziggy Palffy during his time in Slovakia, courtesy of YouTube:

Photo Credit: Les Stockton