(Courtesy of the Fort Worth Brahmas) Fort Worth- The roster for the 2005-2006 Fort Worth Brahmas grew by one on Monday afternoon with the signing of defenseman Vladimir Hartinger to a contract for the upcoming season.

Hartinger, 25, is a veteran of six seasons of professional hockey. He originally turned pro in his native Czechoslovakia in the fall of 1999. After playing the complete 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons for three teams in the top two Czech Republic professional leagues, Hartinger came to the United States in October of 2001 to play for the Wichita Thunder of the CHL.

Hartinger adapted quickly to the North American game, and he enjoyed a breakout 2002-2003 season with the Thunder. He played in Wichita’s first 41 games that year, scoring 10 goals, assisting on 12 others and picking up 111 penalty minutes. For his efforts in Wichita, he was named to the 2003 Central Hockey League Northern Conference All Star team.

Looking their bolster their playoff chances in February of 2003, the New Mexico Scorpions shipped the rights to three players—defensemen Leigh Dean, Mario Dumoulin, and Dominic Plenzich—to Wichita in exchange for Hartinger.

The Sternberk, Czech Republic born Hartinger played the last two plus seasons in New Mexico, functioning as an integral part of the Scorpions blue line. For the 2004-2005 campaign, Hartinger played in 54 games for the Scorps, totaling 15 points (3G/12A) and 75 penalty minutes while leading all New Mexico d-men with a +3 rating.

Hartinger, 6’0”, 200, will come to Fort Worth with a reputation as a physical, stay-at-home defenseman. Brahmas head coach Al Sims, a former NHL defenseman himself, recognizes what Hartinger will bring to his team.

“Vlad is a punishing hitter who looks to take the body. He plays strong in front of his own net, and does a tremendous job of defending players in his own zone. Also, while he is primarily a defensive minded player, he has proven over the course of his career that he can chip in offensively. This is an important signing for us,” Sims stated.

With 310 professional regular season games under his belt, Hartinger becomes the first player with veteran status under contract with the Brahmas for the coming season. Goaltender Larry Sterling and defenseman Konrad Brand, who each signed contracts with Fort Worth earlier this summer, are both classified as developmental players who have less than 260 regular season professional games played. CHL league rules stipulate that each member team can have just four veteran players on their active roster.