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Chiefs Pleased With Waiver Acquisition Gallagher

January 11, 2008

By Mike Mastovich
For The Tribune-Democrat

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - A player claimed off waivers often lasts a few games with his new team, then simply disappears from the roster without much fanfare.

Defenseman Greg Gallagher can attest to that fact.

After starting the season with Cincinnati, Gallagher lost a numbers game. On Nov. 23, Cincinnati coach Chuck Weber released Gallagher, who turned up in Pensacola four days later after being claimed off waivers by the Ice Pilots.

Act II had a familiar theme for Gallagher, a former Hobart College standout in his second ECHL season.

Pensacola coach John Marks released the defenseman in late-December. Chiefs coach Ian Herbers claimed Gallagher off waivers on Dec. 27.

While Gallagher isn’t a superstar on a Chiefs team hoping to get back on the winning track, he hasn’t been a disappointment either. In fact, Herbers believes he might have unearthed a hockey diamond in the rough in Gallagher.

“Greg’s been a pleasant surprise for us. When you pick somebody up from waivers, you’re never too sure,” Herbers said Wednesday. “He’s mobile. He’s a smart player. He’s just a good, solid defenseman. He’s 6-1 and he has some size as well.

“In Cincinnati, talking with Chuck Weber, they really liked him and didn’t really want to get rid of him but it was a numbers thing when they were getting some affiliated defensemen down that they needed to play, and they had some more experienced defensemen that they signed that were going to play ahead of him.

“He kind of got lost in the shuffle. When Chuck first put him up, I inquired about Greg. But he didn’t want to trade him into the North Division. That’s how highly he thought of him.”

In five games, Gallagher is a plus-2, one of only two current Chiefs with a plus rating.

“It’s been a positive here,” Gallagher said. “When I left Cincinnati and went to Pensacola, it was a situation where it didn’t work out too well. It wasn’t right for me. I was definitely excited when I got the opportunity to come to Johnstown. I like the North. I like playing up here. I like the teams in this division.”

Gallagher usually is paired with defenseman Andrew Martens. With the Chiefs injury/call-up situation, there is ample ice time.

“When you get a shot, you’ve got to make the best of your opportunity,” said Gallagher, a 6-foot-1 native of Framingham, Mass., who played 22 ECHL games with Cincinnati last season.

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