The Elmira Junior Enforcers, proud member of the USPHL Premier Division, have announced the signing of forward Pavel Serhiayenka.
Serhiayenka, a 2003 born forward from Furlong. Pennsylvania started his junior hockey career last season with the EHL Premier’s Philadelphia Revolution, where he produced at a point-per-game pace, earning 15 points in 15 games. Pavel also played for the New Jersey Rockets 16U AAA team at the start of the 2019-2020 campaign. Pavel is a young prospect that will bring a scoring touch the the Junior Enforcers lineup.
The Junior Enforcers roster will be made up of players ages 20 and under from all across North America and the world. The Junior Enforcers look forward to an exciting and successful season, which will start in early September with training camp, and will see the puck drop for the season on in late September.
Minnesota native Seth Appert was named the 33rd head coach in the history of the Rochester Americans.
“It’s an honor to become head coach of the Rochester Americans and be part of the Buffalo Sabres organization,” Appert said. “I know the passion of both fan bases and I look forward to helping develop players for the Sabres while building on the winning culture in Rochester. I would like to thank Terry and Kim Pegula, Kevyn Adams and Ralph Krueger for this incredible opportunity and their belief in me.”
He has spent the last three years alternating the head coaching duties between the Under-18 and Under-17 teams at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (NTDP) after an 11-year stint as head coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY.
After his four-year goaltending career at Ferris State, he launched his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Denver, where he spent seven years. He got his first head coach opportunity after the Pioneers won back-to-back Frozen Four’s in 2004 and 2005.
During his first season with the NTDP in 2017-18, Appert guided the Under-18 Team to a gold medal at the Five Nations Tournament. The team also finished the season with an Eastern Conference-best 41-18-0-1 record, the team’s best finish since joining the United States Hockey League.
“I am really excited about our new head coach in Rochester,” new Buffalo Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams said. “He is a great leader and has a track record in development.
“We had the luxury of time…I interviewed a lot of people with different backgrounds. We narrowed it down and Ralph (Sabres head coach Krueger) got involved and Seth kept rising to the top with his communication skills and development background.”
The Cottage Grove, MN (near St. Paul) native will have to wait a bit before launching his professional coaching career as the American Hockey League announced the season will begin Dec. 4 at the earliest.
NEW YORK –3ICE, the new and totally independent, three-on-three professional ice hockey league that begins play in North America next year, is looking to hockey fans to help decide what cities the nine tour-stops will visit for its inaugural season. Hockey fans can begin voting today at 3ICE.com.
Self-proclaimed 3ICE executive-decision makers, internet-famous On The Bench personas Olly Postanin (Steve Campbell) and Jacob Ardown (Ryan Russell), explain the voting process in the latest in-house creation titled Tell Us Where We Should Play. Fans posting videos and tagging various 3ICE social media accounts will have their votes count double.
“3ICE is bringing the best part of hockey to nine cities next year and we want to hear from hockey fans where we should go,” said E.J. Johnston, CEO of 3ICE. “We’ve narrowed a list of hockey-hungry markets down to 20 and we really want to get fan feedback on where we will drop the puck in June of 2021.”
Candidate Cities for Inaugural 3ICE Season Fan Vote:
Boston, Mass.
Buffalo, N.Y.
Chicago, Ill.
Cleveland, Ohio
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Hershey, Pa.
Kansas City, Mo.
Las Vegas, Nev.
London, Ontario, Canada
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Nashville, Tenn.
Philadelphia, Pa.
Pittsburgh, Pa.
Providence, R.I.
Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
The fan vote will be live until Sunday, Sept. 27 at 11:59:59 p.m. PT.
“We can’t wait to see how this shakes out. We really want to listen to hockey fans and hope that we get surprised by some fans and the passion they have for their cities,” added Johnston. “We’ll listen to what they have to say and will look to start announcing our tour stops in October.”
The inaugural 3ICE season will take place during the summer of 2021. The league will consist of eight teams with each consisting of seven players – six skaters and one goalie – and a head coach. Overall, every season will see a total of 60 games per season played over nine tour stops, culminating in a final league championship game, giving fans the ultimate hockey experience.
Chris Panek, who had a hockey coaching career that spanned 25 years, has passed away. News of this was received early this morning. Below is the announcement and award the Buffalo Sabres made back in February honoring Chris for his service to hockey. It also a good, life-story of Chris’s life. RIP Chris.
The Buffalo Sabres announced that Chris Panek has been named the recipient of the 2020 J. Michael Duffett Memorial Award, presented each year to the coach whose contributions to amateur hockey in Western New York “best exemplify the knowledge, teaching, love of the game and gentle humanity of Mike.”
Panek is the 35th recipient of the J. Michael Duffett Memorial Award and will be presented with the award on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at the Sabres’ game against the Colorado Avalanche.
Panek’s coaching career has spanned 25 years, with his experience ranging from the midget to high school levels. Several of his players have gone on to have successful collegiate careers at the Division I and III levels. Additionally, three of Panek’s former players have reached the professional level: NHL and AHL alumni Tim Kennedy, Chris Mueller and Mike Ratchuk.
A former hockey player himself, Panek played at SUNY Plattsburgh before graduating to the ECHL and AHL ranks. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings with the seventh pick in the 1987 NHL Supplemental Draft. Panek’s father, Frank, was the sixth recipient of the J. Michael Duffett Memorial Award, earning the recognition 30 years ago.
Mike Duffett was a student of the game and a coach with the Buffalo Bisons and the Amherst Hockey Association. A standout player at Nichols School and Clarkson University, Duffett was working in the Sabres’ hockey department under Scotty Bowman and Roger Neilson at the time of his death following a battle with cancer. The Sabres established the J. Michael Duffett Award in 1984 in his memory.
Dale Hawerchuk, the leading scorer in the first iteration of the Winnipeg Jets and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, died at the age of 57 after he had stomach cancer, his son Eric announced over Twitter on Tuesday.
“Dale Hawerchuk put Winnipeg and the Jets on the map the day he arrived in our city in 1981, and his love for our community and remarkable Hall of Fame career will keep it here for many generations to come,” the Jets said in a statement. “Dale had a relationship with our fans unlike any other player in the history of our franchise. Whether at home or on the world stage, ‘Ducky’ was embraced by so many, so often because of his humility and the grace by which he always carried himself. Dale was quite simply one of the finest human beings we have ever known that also just happened to be a superstar.
“The Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club, our players, our alumni, and our fans will miss him dearly, and we will forever be inspired by his passion for the game, his commitment to his team, and his love for our community.”
Hawerchuk was honored with a moment of silence before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round between the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, the hub city in the East, on Tuesday.
A forward who was a six-time 100-point scorer for the Jets and helped make them a consistent Stanley Cup Playoff team during the 1980s, Hawerchuk held the franchise career records for goals (379) and points (929) until Shane Doan, captain of the Arizona Coyotes and the last member of the original Jets still active in the NHL, surpassed them during the 2015-16 season. By then, the relocated franchise was concluding its 20th season in Arizona after moving from Winnipeg in 1996.
“The National Hockey League mourns the passing of Dale Hawerchuk, an instant and enduring star who captured the hearts of two hockey-loving cities, represented his country with class and distinction and is one of the most decorated players in our game’s history,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.
Hawerchuk was a star almost from the time he began playing competitive hockey at age 4. He played junior hockey with Cornwall of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and had 103 and 183 points in his two seasons, helping the Royals win the Memorial Cup each time.
The Jets took Hawerchuk with the No. 1 pick in the 1981 NHL Draft and he was an instant star, winning the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in the NHL after scoring 45 goals and 103 points in 1981-82 and becoming the first player to reach 100 points as an 18-year-old. The Jets improved by a then-NHL record 48 points from the previous season, finished second in the Norris Division and qualified for the playoffs for the first time.
“It was hard,” Hawerchuk said in 2018. “Training camp, even at training camp, I remember saying this was so fast and so quick and remember sleeping a lot because I was always exhausted and pushing yourself and playing against men every night and then you remember times where it clicked and you felt really good and then you’d hit a wall again and struggle for a week or two, and then second wind again. I was only 18 so my body, I wasn’t the biggest guy, but I slept a lot that first year, that’s for sure, but I wanted to sleep and be fresh and be ready and to create that consistency over an 80-game schedule back then.
“I knew I needed to be rested because … we flied commercial then as well. the travel was a lot more difficult than it is now with private jets. It was always about being prepared, rested and putting the work in when you could and trying to get stronger and quicker when you could.”
Hawerchuk reached the 100-point mark in six of his first seven seasons with Winnipeg. The only thing he couldn’t do was bring playoff success; the Jets got past the first round twice in his nine seasons in Winnipeg. Hawerchuk had more success internationally, helping Canada win the Canada Cup in 1987 and 1991. He won the face-off that led to Mario Lemieux’s winning goal in the 1987 tournament.
The Jets traded Hawerchuk to the Buffalo Sabres on June 16, 1990. He averaged 94 points in his first four seasons with the Sabres before injuries limited him to 16 points in 23 games during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season. He signed with the St. Louis Blues on Sept. 8, 1995 but was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers on March 15, 1996.
Hawerchuk helped the Flyers advance to the Stanley Cup Final in 1997, the only time during his 16-year NHL career that his team got past the second round of the playoffs. He retired soon after Philadelphia was swept by the Detroit Red Wings because of a degenerative left hip. He finished with 1,409 points (518 goals, 891 assists) in 1,188 NHL games.
“I got fortunate, I played with him at the end,” Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “His last year was in Philadelphia when we played together on the same line. So playing against him, he was just a great player. I always, it’s funny, you play a game with a lot of teammates. You very rarely remember how they played. It’s always about what kind of people they were.
“He’s just a great person, can’t even remember any of the games. You just remember what kind of guy he was and actually for me, what stands out was I was a centerman, he was a centerman. He was a Hall of Fame centerman. We got on the same line and he’s like, ‘I’ll play left wing. You play center.’ It sounds like a stupid thing, but that’s a little thing that just stands out to me and tells you what kind of guy he was. Just we’re obviously thinking of him. He was just a great person.”
Hawerchuk was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2001, and his No. 10 was honored by the Coyotes on April 5, 2007.
Following his retirement, Hawerchuk raised show jumping horses before becoming coach of Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League. He remained with Barrie until taking a leave of absence for health reasons in September 2019.
“Hawerchuk was in the midst of a similarly successful post-playing career as a coach and director of hockey operations of Barrie of the OHL when he became ill and was taken from us far too soon,” Bettman said. “We send our condolences to his wife, Crystal, their three children, Ben, Eric and Alexis, and countless teammates and fans who were fortunate enough to see him play and call him a friend.”
NHL.com staff writer Mike G. Morreale and independent correspondent Wes Crosby contributed to this report.
TROY, N.Y. – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) head men’s hockey head coach Dave Smith has announced the addition of 10 student-athletes to the 2020-21 roster. Joining this year’s team will be seven forwards, two defensemen and one goaltender. Nine are freshmen and one, Shane Sellar, is a graduate transfer.
Sellar, who spent the past four years at Dartmouth College, is one of five from the United States. Three are from Canada and two hail from Finland.
“We are excited about the young men who are joining our program,” said Smith, who is entering his fourth season with the Engineers. “They have each made the commitment to attend RPI and help us through this most unique time. While we don’t currently have a start date for our season, I am confident our players are preparing with focus and determination to build on the momentum gained last season with an ECAC Hockey First Round Playoff series bye.
“Coach (Scott) Moser, Coach (Chuck) Weber and I feel these 10 newcomers bring speed, size and skill to our team. Shane Sellar is a transfer who fits into our culture as an elite leader with ECAC Hockey and NCAA playing experience. He is someone who plays the game the right way and will make our program better immediately. He and each of the others also prioritize the values of our program – the four Pillars of RPI Hockey are Commitment, Integrity, Discipline and Family – which also make them terrific fits.”
Below is an alphabetical list of Rensselaer’s newcomers:
John Beaton Forward (Shoots Left) Jersey #17 6-1 / 190 Stittsville, ON / Youngstown Phantoms (USHL) Business and Management
Played for Youngstown Phantoms of USHL in 2019-20 … Scored 11 goals with 15 assists for 26 points in 48 games … Ten penalty minutes … Played three seasons with Kemptville 73s of CCHL … Had 47 points (13 goals, 34 assists) in 56 games in 2018-19.
Jack Brackett Forward (Shoots Left) Jersey #24 5-10 / 180 Manassas, VA / Powell River Kings (BCHL) Business and Management
Played for Power River Kings of BCHL in 2019-20 … Had 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in 48 games … Registered 34 penalty minutes … Played two playoff games … Five games with Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of USHL and 43 with Boston Jr. Bandits of NCDC in 2018-19 … Had 37 points (23 goals, 14 assists) with Boston.
Dylan Davies Defense (Shoots Left) Jersey #10 6-3 / 195 Traverse City, MI / Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) Business and Management
Played for Sioux Falls Stampede, Muskegon Lumberjacks and Omaha Lancers in USHL in 2019-20 … One assist and two penalty minutes in three games with Sioux Falls … One assist and 14 PIMs with Muskegon and two penalty minutes in 11 games with Omaha … Four assists in 33 games with Austin Bruins of NAHL in 2018-19.
Jake Gagnon Forward (Shoots Right) Jersey #27 5-10 / 170 Pointe-Claire, PQ / Wellington Dukes (OJHL) Business and Management
Played for Wellington Dukes of OJHL in 2019-20 … Scored 31 goals with 38 assists for 69 points in 50 games … Thirty penalty minutes … Four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in four playoff games … Attended and played for Millbrook School in Connecticut for three years … Two-year captain … Had 38 points (15 goals, 23 assists) in 29 games in 2018-19 … Team MVP.
James McIsaac Forward (Shoots Right) Jersey #8 5-10 / 175 Winnipeg, MB / Brooks Bandits (AJHL) Business and Management
Played for Brooks Bandits of AJHL in 2019-20 … Had 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points in 50 games … Registered 61 penalty minutes … Team set league record for longest winning streak (34-0-0) … Spent 2018-19 with Muskegon of USHL … Had 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists) and 66 PIMs in 53 games … Two penalty minutes in four playoff games … Played in CJHL Top Prospects Game in 2017.
Brett Miller Goalie (Catches Left) Jersey #30 6-2 / 180 Northville, MI / Austin Bruins (AJHL) Business and Management
Played for Austin Bruins of AJHL in 2019-20 … Had 2.60 goals against average and .916 save percentage in 33 games … Team MVP … Played 19 games with Austin and one with Cedar Rapids of USHL in 2018-19 … Registered 2.66 GAA and .891 save percentage with Bruins … Played two years at Northville High School … Two-year starter … Captain … School record for wins in season (20 in 2016-17) … All-State twice … Team won 2017 Regional Championship.
Altti Nykanen Forward (Shoots Left) Jersey #15 6-3 / 185 Vihti, Finland / Bishop’s College Prep. School (MPHL) Business and Management
Played for Bishop’s College Prep. in MPHL and CAHS in 2019-20 … Had 14 goals and eight assists for 22 points in 17 MPHL games … Scored 32 goals with 29 assists for 61 points in 48 CAHS games … Team MVP … MPHL All-League … Had 50 points (20 goals, 30 assists) in 55 CAHS games in 2018-19 … Tallied 14 points (10 goals, 4 assists) in 18 MPHL contests … Coaches Award twice.
Henri Schreifels Forward (Shoots Left) Jersey #12 6-1 / 195 Newbury Park, CA / Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL) Business and Management
Played for Victoria Grizzlies of BCHL in 2019-20 … Assistant captain … Scored 24 goals with 21 assists for 45 points in 56 games … Had 54 penalty minutes … Two points (1 goal, 1 assists) and four penalty minutes in four playoff games … Team’s Governor’s Choice Award … BCHL All-19 Year Old Team … Six goals and nine assists for 15 points in 38 games with Victoria in 2018-19 … Had 21 PIMs … Team won Division Championship … Six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in 15 playoff games … Played three games for both Penticton and Alberni Valley in 2018-19.
Shane Sellar Forward (Shoots Left) Jersey #26 6-3 / 200 Carlisle, PA / Dartmouth College (ECAC Hockey) Master’s in Business Administration
Graduate transfer … Three seasons at Dartmouth … Did not play in 2019-20 … Four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 34 games in 2018-19 … Twelve penalty minutes … Scored 16 goals with 24 assists for 40 points in 94 career games.
Lauri Sertti Defenseman (Shoots Left) Jersey #3 6-1 / 190 Espoo, Finland / Amarillo Bulls (NAHL) Business and Management
Played for Amarillo Bulls of NAHL in 2019-20 … Eight goals and 20 assists for 28 points in 47 games … Had 50 penalty minutes … Spend 2018-19 with BluesU20 of U20 SM-sarja … Six goals and 24 assists for 30 points in 49 games … Had 60 PIMs … Six playoff games … Silver medal with Finish U20 National Team in 2018-19.
“Seth has a proven track record of developing talent at various levels and we are looking forward to him being the next head coach of the Rochester Americans,” Adams said. “His approach to coaching and leadership, both on and off the ice, is a natural fit with the philosophy Ralph Krueger and I have started to implement as we build the organization. Seth will be an asset to Rochester and to the Sabres organization, and I’m excited to see him succeed behind the bench with the Amerks.”
“It’s honor to become head coach of the Rochester Americans and be part of the Buffalo Sabres organization,” Appert said. “I know the passion of both fan bases and I look forward to helping develop players for the Sabres while building on the winning culture in Rochester. I would like to thank Terry and Kim Pegula, Kevyn Adams and Ralph Krueger for this incredible opportunity and their belief in me.”
Appert has a long history of developing players at all levels. He has spent the last three years as a head coach within USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (NTDP), two with the Under-18 Team and one with the Under-17 Team.
During his first season with the NTDP in 2017-18, Appert guided the Under-18 Team to a gold medal at the Five Nations Tournament. The team also finished the season with an Eastern Conference-best 41-18-0-1 record, the team’s best finish since joining the United States Hockey League.
In 2018, Appert led the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team to a silver medal at the IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship. The year prior, he helped guide Team USA to a gold medal at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championship as an assistant coach and served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Men’s National Team at the 2017 IIHF Men’s World Championship. He also had two stints as head coach (2008, 2011) and one as assistant coach (2007) of the U.S. National Under-18 Select Team that competed in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.
Prior to joining USA Hockey, the Cottage Grove, Minn., native spent 20 years in the NCAA Division I coaching ranks, including 11 seasons as head coach of the men’s program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Appert guided the team to an appearance in the 2011 NCAA Tournament following a 20-win season before leading RPI to its best finish in more than two decades just two years later with a second-place finish in the ECAC standings.
Appert, who formerly served as president of the American Hockey Coaches Association, also spent nine seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Denver, where he helped the Pioneers to a pair of NCAA National Championships as well as three WCHA playoff championships and two WCHA regular-season titles.
Appert received his degree in 1996 from Ferris State University, where he was a four-year letter winner as a goaltender.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that $4.8 million was raised over the course of the 2019-20 season by the AHL and its 31 member clubs for donation to various charitable causes and relief funds across North America.
Among the many recipients of the AHL’s charity endeavors this season were:
• Ace Bailey Children’s Foundation • ALS Association • American/Canadian Cancer Societies • American Heart Association • American/Canadian Red Cross • Boy Scouts of America/Girl Scouts of the USA • Boys & Girls Clubs of America • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Jimmy Fund • Easterseals • Hockey Fights Cancer • Make-A-Wish Foundation • Mario Lemieux Foundation • Military Order of the Purple Heart • Ronald McDonald House Charities • Salvation Army • Special Olympics • Susan G. Komen For the Cure • United Way • Vet Tix • YMCA/YWCA • You Can Play Project and many more…
In addition to monies raised, AHL teams gave back to their local communities through numerous activities, including more than 1,300 visits by players and coaches to schools, hospitals, libraries and other locations and more than 2,000 mascot appearances. More than 115,000 game tickets were donated to local charitable groups, and items such as food, coats, holiday gifts and hockey equipment were collected at various drives organized by AHL clubs.
(This is the fourth, and final part, of a four-part series listing all of the award winners. Today: Individual and Team winners).
The Second Annual Hasek’s Heroes Western New York High School Hockey Awards ceremony, originally scheduled to be held at the Key Bank Center in downtown Buffalo, became a live streamed event back in July.
The ceremonies were emceed by Brian Duff of the Buffalo Sabres’ television broadcast team. The awards were presented by present or former NHL players from the Western New York area.
The Team of the Year Award was presented to the Williamsville South Team in Division IV of the Boys Federation Hockey League. The team finished with an 18-5-0 record, which included a 15-1-0 mark in D4 play. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams presented the award.
Mike and Amy Lesakowski, founders of the 11-Day Power Play, Inc. received the Hasek’s Heroes Impact Award. The event was designed to raise money for cancer research programs. Former NHL forward, Tim Kennedy, announced the award.
The West Seneca Mini Bruins Mini Mites were honored as the Youth Hockey Team of the Year. This group of five year-olds took their teammate, Owen Chase, who was diagnosed with a type of Leukemia early in their season, and made sure he was included in all team games, practices and activities. It was quite an undertaking by the team, but was highly successful. Former Sabres forward Patrick Kaleta, presented the award.
The Second Annual Korey Award went to the man the award is named for: Fred Korey. Back in 2001 Korey, along with Hall of Fame goaltender, Dominik Hasek, began Hasek’s Heroes. Unfortunately, Korey passed after losing his battle with ALS. The award was presented by Jim Hornung, Jr., President of the Hasek’s Heroes Board of Directors.
The WNY High School Hockey Awards was established in 2018/2019 by Hasek’s Heroes to recognize and celebrate outstanding female and male student athletes who have represented their high schools playing at the Varsity Club or Federation level throughout the season. The awards also celebrate teams and individuals who have made meaningful impact in the community, both on and off the ice.
The Mission of Hasek’s Heroes is to provide Western New York children in need the foundations of athletic, academic and character development within a fun and rewarding hockey-centered program.
In addition to fostering athletic skills and engaging youth in recreational activities throughout the hockey season, Hasek’s Heroes provides team building and leadership skills during both the on-ice and off-ice components of the program.
DANBURY, CT – Jordan Brickner, the stellar defender who has been a popular member of the Connecticut Whale since the NWHL’s first season, has become the 100th player to sign a contract to play in the league’s sixth season.
“The Whale roster is full of amazing new skill and talent, so I’m really looking forward to being back on the ice with my team and to the competitive season ahead,” said Brickner. “Last season, we made a lot of progress right until the end. The Whale will continue to grow as a team and work towards our first Isobel Cup.”
In the 2019-20 season, Brickner had a goal and six assists for seven points in 10 games, and she was honored with a selection to the NWHL All-Star Game in Boston. However, an injury cut her season short.
Brickner, who also earned selection to the 2017 NWHL All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, is 3-23-26 in her NWHL career with the Whale.
A native of Lake Forest, Illinois, Brickner began her 140-game collegiate career at Colgate before transferring to Wisconsin. In her two seasons with the Badgers, she was plus-47 and was never called for a penalty.
On the Whale roster for the upcoming season, which starts in October with official practices before the game schedule begins in January, Brickner joins original NWHLers Shannon Doyle and Elena Orlando and several outstanding newcomers led by U.S. National Team forward Melissa Samoskevich.
“Jordan is an excellent two-way defender who brings skill, leadership, consistency and poise to our back end,” said Connecticut GM Bray Ketchum. “We can count on her in all situations. After missing her for the second half of last season, the Whale are very excited to have Jordan back in Season 6.”
