Toledo Walleye re-sign Butrus Ghafari

From the Toledo Walleye:

? PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT ?

Defenseman Butrus Ghafari returns to the Fish for the 2021-22 season.

? https://t.co/ovrjpKpFC4 pic.twitter.com/WOaP6cPPgx— Toledo Walleye (@ToledoWalleye) August 17, 2021

Here’s the Walleye’s press release:

(Toledo, OH) – Defenseman Butrus Ghafari (boo-truhs, ga-far-ee) has agreed to terms with the Toledo Walleye for the 2021-2022 season.

Ghafari, the West Bloomfield, MI native, started his pro career with the Walleye by appearing in one game prior to the end of the 2019-2020 season. He did play for Rapid City a season ago, appearing in 58 games with 10 points (1G, 9A) and 72 penalty minutes in his first full pro season.

Prior to turning professional, the 25-year-old spent four years at Michigan State University with 114 total games played. Ghafari appeared in at least 20 games in each of his four years as a Spartan and posted four goals with five assists in his college career. The defenseman also had 200 games played in the USHL before heading to Michigan State, where he was a plus 21 from 2012-2016.

Update: Here’s more from the Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe:

“Butrus brings a very high compete level to practice and games,” Watson said. “He has the desire to get better each day.”

After the Walleye opted out of last season, Ghafari played in 58 games for the Rapid City Rush of the ECHL. Ghafari tallied 10 points (1 G, 9 A) and 72 penalty minutes in his first full pro season.

The 5-foot-11, 196-pound stay-at-home defenseman was known for his consistency and physicality at Michigan State.

The 25-year-old spent four years at Michigan State. He appeared in 114 total games and produced nine points (4 G, 5 A).

“He demonstrated last season that he can play in our league on a consistent basis,” Watson said.

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George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, when MLive hired me to work their SlapShots blog, and I joined Kukla's Korner in 2011 as The Malik Report. I'm starting The Malik Report as a stand-alone site, hoping that having my readers fund the website is indeed the way to go to build a better community and create better content.