PLYMOUTH WHALERS SIGN 17-YEAR-OLD LEFT WING ADAM RESTOULE

Press Release

PLYMOUTH – Plymouth Whalers President, General Manager and Head Coach Mike Vellucci announced the signing of 17-year-old left wing Adam Restoule, who was selected by the Whalers in the 11th round (213th overall) of the 2009 Ontario Hockey League Draft.

“I feel very lucky and excited to come to Plymouth,” said Restoule. “It’s a great organization, I like the rink and I’ve seen the city (of Plymouth). I’m very fortunate to get signed.”

“We like Adam a lot,” said Vellucci. “At 16, he played on a championship team in a league that is filled with older players. Adam has size and skill and played very good in a tough league.”

Restoule – 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, from Thunder Bay, ON – played last season for the Fort William North Stars as one of the youngest players to skate in the Superior International Junior League. Restoule scored eight goals with three assists for 11 points at 61 PIM’s in 37 games as the North Stars finished with a regular season record of 45-5-2-0. Restoule added two goals and three assists in ten games in the SIJL playoffs as the North Stars won the league championship in five games over the Dryden Ice Dogs.

“Most of my teammates were 19 and 20-years-old and I was nervous at first,” said Restoule. “But they helped me out a lot. My coach (Todd Howarth) was hard to play for, at first. He was up front and honest with me in terms of ice time.

“In midget (Thunder Bay midgets in 2008-09), I got a lot of ice time and points. My role was different in Fort William. I learned a team game and how to work hard to get my ice time.”

Restoule skated for the Whalers in the 2009 and 2010 Rookie Orientations at Compuware Arena.

Ironically, the Whalers have historically enjoyed good success in selecting players in the 11th round, including Sean Myers (2008), Tyler G. Brown (2007), Frank Grzeszczak (2005), Andrew Fournier (2003), John Vigilante (2001), Jamie Lalonde (1997), Scott Blair (1994) and Dan Pawlaczyk (1993).

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)