Traded North

I happened to miss this transaction on Halloween - likely because I was handing out candy - but the player to the left was traded on that day. That's Kamerin Nault who suited up for the Manitoba Bisons from 2016-19 in Canada West, and he's been all over the place since leaving for professional hockey. Most recently, he was playing for the Florida Everblades who have a number of veteran players, so playing time for Nault was at a premium. He had scored one goal in three games, but watching from the pressbox isn't really Nault's style, especially when he's proven he can play and score at the ECHL level. On Halloween, another ECHL team came calling for his services, and Nault was packing his bags for a trip north to Coralville where he'd see more ice time!

The Iowa Heartlanders made the call to Estero, Florida and acquired Kamerin Nault for future considerations! While Florida is in the middle of the Eastern Conference standings and tied for third-place in the South Division, the Iowa Heartlanders are four points back of the Toledo Walleye for first-place in the Western Conference's Central Division, so Nault was joining a team who was making a push up the standings. As it currently stands, the Heartlanders have won six-straight games, and they play back-to-back games on the road on Wednesday against a struggling Kalamazoo Wings team and Thursday against a solid Fort Wayne Komets squad.

In six games with the Heartlanders thus far, Nault has one goal so his production hasn't been off the charts, but they've beaten Kalamazoo three times and Utah three times in those six games they've won. With the Iowa Wild calling up players in bunches, Nault's scoring and leadership will likely be needed for the Heartlanders over the next few weeks. After not playing a lot with Florida, it will be on Nault to get himself ready for games this week and beyond with Iowa.

This will be the seventh stop in the ECHL for Nault as he's suited up with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, the Kansas City Mavericks, the Atlanta Gladiators, the Reading Royals, the Fort Wayne Komets in preseason this year, the Florida Everblades, and, now, the Iowa Heartlanders. He's also spent time with the AHL's Manitoba Moose and Charlotte Checkers in between ECHL stops, and he spent 20 games in the EIHL with the Fife Flyers to finish off last season. If he's collecting jerseys to put on a wall one day, he's starting to run out of room!

All jokes aside, the good news is that it appears the Heartlanders need his services more than having them rent Nault for a short period of time. He, along with Adam Goodsir and Noaln Orzeck, were all acquired recently to help Iowa ice a competitive team, so I expect Nault to see the ice more often than he was in Florida. If he finds some rhythm and makes some chemistry with linemates, he could find the same scoring touch he had in Greenville. Iowa has to keep him in the lineup for that to happen, though, so we'll see how this goes for Nault and the Heartlanders.

Six consecutive wins is nothing to brush aside, though, so the Heartlanders are playing good hockey even if the roster is in flux. Here's hoping that Kamerin Nault can get on heater like the team currently is, and he finds a place to call home for a few seasons in the heart of Iowa.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!