ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Solar Bears announced Tuesday the hockey club has acquired forward Jesse Jacques from the Iowa Heartlanders in exchange for defenseman Louka Henault.
Jacques, 25, has appeared in 33 ECHL games over two-plus seasons with the Iowa Heartlanders posting 21 points (10g-11a). This season, the Hermantown, Minnesota native has scored six goals and eight assists for 14 points in 22 games.
Prior to his professional career, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound forward played his college hockey with the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. In 157 NCAA games over five seasons, Jacques tallied 34 points (10g-24a) and was part of the National Championship team during the 2018-19 season, and helped the Bulldogs capture two National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Conference Championships (2018-19, 2021-22). Jacques played one season of junior hockey with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) scoring 25 points (9g-16a) during the 2017-18 season.
Henault, 22, heads to Iowa to complete the trade. The second-year pro from Montreal, Quebec has two assists in 10 games with the Solar Bears this season. In total, Henault has appeared in 51 ECHL games over two seasons, scoring 15 points (3g-12a) with Jacksonville and Orlando.