ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Solar Bears, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning, announced Friday (Jan. 3) the Belleville Senators of the American Hockey League (AHL) have released goaltender Alexis Gravel from his Professional Tryout Contract (PTO) and returned him to the Orlando Solar Bears.
Gravel, 24, owns a 7-5-3 record in 16 appearances with the Solar Bears this season, with a 2.19 goals against average (GAA) and .937 save percentage (SV%). His 52-save shutout on December 22 vs. South Carolina set a new Solar Bears franchise mark for most saves in a shutout. The Val-des-Sources, Quebec native became the 10th Solar Bears goaltender to be named ECHL Goaltender of the Week for the week of Dec. 16-22.
In 53 regular season games over three seasons at University of Quebec-Trois-Rivières, the Val-des-Sources, Quebec native posted a 38-11-1 record with eight shutouts. Gravel was a large contributor to his teams’ 2021-22 University Cup Championship. In three games, the 6-foot-3, 218-pound netminder posted a 3-0 record, with a 1.86 GAA and a .950 SV%, earning him the Most Valuable Player award and USports University Cup All-Star Team honors.
Gravel played five seasons of junior hockey in the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the Halifax Mooseheads, leading them to the Memorial Cup Tournament during the 2018-19 season. In the tournament, Gravel was named Memorial Cup Most Outstanding Goaltender and placed on the First All-Star Team. Gravel posted 33 wins during the 2018-19 regular season and recorded the fifth-best save percentage (.913) in all of the QMJHL.
Internationally, Gravel represented Team Canada at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament (now Hlinka Gretzky Cup) prior to the 2017-18 season and took home the Gold Medal.
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