Former Spirit players sign NHL deals

As the 5 p.m. deadline approached yesterday for NHL teams to sign their 2003 draft picks, two former Saginaw Spirit players beat the deadline and will advance to the pro ranks this coming season.

Goaltender Mike Brown and defenseman Paul Bissonnette both played for the Spirit since the team came to Saginaw in 2002 and both were traded to the Owen Sound Attack this past year. Bissonnette was also a rookie on the North Bay Centennials, now the Spirit, in 2001-2002.

Brown signed with the Boston Bruins and Bissonnette, a former Spirit captain, inked his first contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Brown was a fifth-round pick of Boston while Bissonnette went a round earlier.