Massicotte Loaned to Orlando; Solar Bears Ink TJ Walsh

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Solar Bears, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning, announced the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League have landed defenseman Zachary Massicotte to the Orlando Solar Bears. Additionally, the Solar Bears have announced forward T.J. Walsh has agreed to terms on an ECHL Standard Player Contract.

Massicotte, 23, has appeared in 28 ECHL games this season for the Solar Bears, scoring two goal and six assists. The 6-foot-4, 218-pound rearguard has also played in 19 AHL games for the Syracuse Crunch, tallying one assist this season.

During the 2022-23 season, Massicotte appeared in 57 games for the Allen Americans, scoring 19 points (6g-13a) The Shawinigan, Quebec native also appeared in four AHL games with the Belleville Senators.

Prior to his professional career, Massicotte played 220 games in the QMJHL, scoring 70 points (16g-54a). During the 2021-22 season, Massicotte won the QMJHL Championship and appeared in the CHL Memorial Cup for the Shawinigan Cataractes.

Walsh, 23, joins the Solar Bears after his fifth college hockey season, where he was a graduate student at Sacred Heart University. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound forward scored 26 points (13g-13a) in 36 games and was the Pioneers nomination for the Hobey Baker Award for the Most Outstanding Player in NCAA Men's Ice Hockey.

The Shrewsbury, MA native also spent two seasons at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) from 2021-2023, where he was teammates with current Solar Bear, Ryan Mahshie. Walsh scored 36 points (11g-25a) in 71 games with the Engineers and was ECAC All-Academic Team for the 2021-22 season. Prior to his tenure at RPI, Walsh played two seasons at Northeastern University from 2019-2021, scoring eight points (2g-6a) in 35 games and was named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team in both seasons.

Prior to his college hockey career, Walsh played three seasons of junior hockey in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the Des Moines Buccaneers and the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, in 137 regular season and playoff games, Walsh scored 73 points (27g-46a).