Photo credit: Rich Gagnon
ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Solar Bears have announced that the team has agreed to terms with rookie defenseman Tommy Davis on an ECHL Standard Player Contract. Additionally, defenseman Nolan Valleau has signed a Professional Try-Out Agreement with the AHL’s Utica Comets.
Davis, 24, joins Orlando after finishing up his collegiate career this season as a graduate student with Providence College, where he tallied 11 points (1g-10a) and 18 penalty minutes in 40 games.
Davis previously played four seasons as an undergraduate at Princeton University, where he was teammates with current Solar Bears forward Kyle Rankin. In 97 career games with the Tigers program, the 6-foot-2, 194-pound blueliner produced 21 points (6g-15a) and 115 penalty minutes.
The Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J. native also played one season of junior hockey with the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League, amassing 21 points (7g-14a) and 104 penalty minutes in 61 games.
Valleau, 25, joins his fifth AHL club of the season, after having previously signed PTOs with Toronto, Chicago, Rockford and Milwaukee. In 10 total AHL games this season, Valleau has racked up four penalty minutes. The third-year blueliner has skated in 41 games with Orlando this season, generating 34 points (8g-26a) and 12 penalty minutes.
Orlando concludes the 2017-18 regular season this weekend with a pair of road games, as they take on the Atlanta Gladiators on Friday, April 6 at 7:35 p.m. at Infinite Energy Arena, and the South Carolina Stingrays on Saturday, April 7 at 7:05 p.m. at the North Charleston Coliseum.
The Solar Bears will play the South Carolina Stingrays in the South Division Semifinals of the 2018 Kelly Cup Playoffs, and will host Games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary) at the ARS.com Rink at Amway Center. Tickets for the first round of the 2018 Kelly Cup Playoffs are on sale now – fans can purchase tickets starting at $18 through the Amway Center Box office or by visiting ticketmaster.com.
About the Orlando Solar Bears:
The Orlando Solar Bears are in their sixth season of operation in the ECHL, the premier “AA” hockey league in North America, and are the proud affiliate of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. The Solar Bears are owned and operated by the Orlando Magic and the DeVos Family, and play at the ARS.com Rink at Amway Center, the 2012 Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal Sports Facility of the Year.
Officially licensed Orlando Solar Bears replica team jerseys, apparel, and headwear can be purchased at orlandosolarbearshockey.com/shop.
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