Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Wolves trim roster

Press Release

As the Sudbury Wolves prepare for a pivotal four-game home stand, the club has announced that they have reduced their active roster to 23 players.   The Wolves have assigned 17-year-old defenceman David Eccles and forward Austin Veleke to junior hockey.

Veleke will play for the Sudbury Nickel Barons Jr. A team of the NOJHL and will remain close-by as the Wolves continue to play games without the services of veteran forwards: Dominik Kahun, Nathan Cull and Brody Silk - due to injury. Cull and Kahun have only played in one game each so far this season and both forward’s return-to-play schedule is listed as week-to-week.  Meanwhile, Brody Silk will be out of the Wolves’ line-up until 2014 after undergoing surgery in September.

“David Eccles played well in the five games that he played for us and I expect to see him back in our line-up in the near future” notes Wolves’ GM Blaine Smith.   “With eight healthy defencemen we felt it was the right time to reduce our roster in order to have all of our remaining defencemen playing on a regular basis.  We need to find some consistency in our defensive play and having our guys playing regularly will assist our young defencemen in particular with their on-ice development.”

“Austin Veleke has been a pleasant surprise for us” adds Smith.  “At 6’5” he can play an important role for us but like all young players, he needs to play.   Having Austin with the Nickel Barons will allow him to continue to develop in our backyard and he will earn a lot of ice time with the Barons.   With his determination, we see Austin developing into a regular player for us in the near future.”   Veleke was selected in the 10th round of the 2012 OHL Priority Selection Draft.

The Wolves will close-out the month of October with four home games and one road game.  The Wolves have only played two games on home ice so far this season.   By the end of October, the OHL Schedule-Maker will have the Wolves playing six games on home ice and eight games on the road.

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

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