Players On The Move

With the U SPORTS season officially in the books, there will be a number of players who are seeking new homes at the professional level. We've seen some move already like when Connor Blake jumped at the chance to sign with the Idaho Steelheads, but there certainly will be others as teams look to add dynamic playes prior to the Kelly Cup Playoffs starting. With Kermit the Frog playing the role of ECHL general managers across North America, phone bills would be growing in some cities as those teams get set for deep playoffs runs. Who went where? Let's find out.

You may recall me mentioning a trade involving former Laurier Golden Hawks forward Jimmy Soper that had the winger moving from Rapid City to Florida in a deal for former Bisons forward Brett Davis. Well, it seems that Soper barely had time to get settled in Estero, Florida because the Everblades dealt Soper along with former Carleton Ravens forward Kieran Craig and Luke Santerno to Cincinnati for Cyclones' leading goal scorer Zack Andrusiak and the rights to defensemen Zach Berzolla five days ago. Craig had played all of eight games with Florida before being traded after spending the last two seasons at Carleton where he scored 22 goals and added 27 assists in 49 OUA games. Let's hope he gets a shot in Cincinnati because it appeared that Florida had found a gem in Craig after signing him to a deal.

We're not done with Soper, though, because it was announced today by Cincinnati that they had suspended Soper and removed him from the roster. There was no details given for the suspension, but I suspect that Soper likely wasn't all that excited to be in Cincinnati for the remainder of the season considering this would be his third home in the month of March. Soper did play in three games for the Cyclones, recording one goal and one assist, but it seems he won't be skating for them for the rest of the campaign.

The March 21 trade deadline also saw a former Manitoba Bisons defender moved in the deals five days ago as Reece Harsch was dealt from the Jacksonville Icemen to the Idaho Steelheads in exchange for Lincoln Erne. Harsch played just 15 games in Manitoba brown-and-gold, but he was effeecive with two goals and ten assists on a Bisons team that didn't have much offence. Harsch has been all over the map over the last few seasons, playing with the EIHL's Fife Flyers, the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones, the ECHL's Toledo Walleye, and the AHL's Abbotsford Canucks, but it seems he'll be skating in Boise for the rest of this season after the Steelheads dealt for him. He's another solid defensive player with big offensive upside on an Idaho blue line that's already stacked!

The Iowa Heartlanders added another former Canadian university player at the deadline when they picked up former UPEI Panthers defenceman Matt Brassard from the Newfoundland Growlers. The former OHL defender spent three seasons with the Panthers, picking most of his points in his final season in Charlottetown where he finished his AUS career with ten goals and 35 assists in 57 games. This is his fourth stop in the ECHL since leaving school, having played with the Savannah Ghost Pirates, Allen Americans, Newfoundland Growlers, and, now, the Iowa Heartlanders. His 104 games in the ECHL has seen him total nine goals and 24 assists thus far, but he has played physical in his four stops as he has 128 PIMs total. Iowa likely wanted that physical presence for a playoff run, and Brassard likely will deliver.

Rapid City opted to upgrade their goaltending on March 21 when they went out and inked Laurier Golden Hawks netminder Christian Propp to a deal. Propp's time in the OHL didn't attract any NHL teams to draft him, but the Golden Hawks were quite happy with his work. In three seasons, Propp posted a 33-39 record in 73 appearances while posting a 2.79 GAA and a .919 save percentage on a team that struggled against some of the better OUA teams. Laurier only finished above .500 once in Propp's time with the program, and that was in the shortened 2021-22 season when they went 8-7-1. Based on his save percentage, though, it seems pretty clear he can make saves to keep his team in games. The Rush liked what they saw, and he'll spend the rest of the season stopping pucks in South Dakota!

The Toledo Walleye decided to get in on the free agent fun as they inked former Guelph Gryphons and TMU Bold defender Cole Cameron to a deal on March 21. Known for being more of a defensive defender through his time in the OHL and with Guelph, Cameron helped TMU reach the U SPORTS National Championship this year, finishing his four seasons in the OUA with eight goals and 18 assists in 89 contests. Cameron was enrolled for his Masters Degree in Business Administration so we'll have to see if he goes back to TMU, but he did receive his Bachelor's Degree in Food and Agricultural Business from Guelph. For the rest of this season, he'll be tasked with stopping opposing forwards in the playoffs as the Walleye seek a Kelly Cup!

On March 22, the Norfolk Admirals made a splash by inking free agent and former Calgary Dinos defender Dakota Krebs to a deal. Krebs is the older brother of Buffalo Sabres forward Payton Krebs, but don't let that fool you in thinking Krebs is an offensive defender. While he does score, Dakota is very responsible in his own end, and has shown a knack for moving the puck without spending a lot of time in the box at both the WHL level and the Canada West level. In 71 games with the Dinos, Krebs recorded five goals and 21 assists, but only had 56 penalty minutes over three seasons. He doesn't get flashy with the puck, but Admirals fans will like Dakota Krebs on their blue line as they hunt for a Kelly Cup due to his responsible play and his reliability in his own zone.

The last move comes with a bit of head scratching because the Jacksonville Icemen released former Manitoba Bisons defender Mackenzie Dwyer from his contract today. Dwyer had played 13 games with the Maine Mariners and six games with the Fort Wayne Komets this season before landing back in Jacksonville where played 32 games in 2022-23. It seemed like the perfect for the 27 year-old Dwyer, but no reason was given for his release. It may be due to numbers, though, as the acquisition of Erne that I mentioned above gave Jacksonville 11 defencemen, including Dwyer, on their roster. Given that he was playing so little, that may have contributed.

In any case, there are a pile of U SPORTS transactions that will have a number of ECHL teams and fans happier after the trade deadline has come and gone. With more U SPORTS players in the ECHL, the chances of seeing one of them raise the Kelly Cup only increases, so it will be interesting to see who stands atop the mountain when the final horn sounds. All of the players who joined new teams, though, can be difference-makers for those teams, so here's hoping these players light it up in the ECHL!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!