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Independence, MO —
The Missouri Mavericks have signed defenseman Eric Meland. The move became necessary as the team placed forward Trevor Kell on the 14-day injured reserve and defenseman Dave Pszenyczny on the 7-day injured reserve.
“As I have said many times this season,” Mavericks coach Scott Hillman said, “I have never experienced a season with the number of injuries this team has had to deal with this year. Right now, they happen and you just think, ‘Par for the course.’ It is so frustrating, for the players, for me personally and our fans.”
Hillman said the reason for placing Kell and Pszenyczny on the IR list now is so they will be ready when postseason play begins.
“You certainly want to climb as high in the standings as possible,” Hillman said, “but the ultimate goal is to win a championship and we want our players healthy and ready to go for the postseason.”
Meland, 23, recently completed his fourth season at Princeton University. The Grand Forks, N.D., native finished his collegiate career with 60 points on 16 goals and 44 assists in 118 games played. Prior to playing collegiately, the 6-foot, 185-pound defenseman played junior hockey for the Lincoln Stars in the United States Hockey League, where he had 34 points in 58 games in his final season.
“Eric is a great skater and handles the puck very well,” Hillman said. “He is very skilled with the puck and has the ability to move it efficiently up the ice. He is also adept to jumping into the rush in order to add additional offense. We are excited to add Eric to our lineup as we strive to bring our roster back to health during this final leg of the regular season in preparation for the playoffs.”
The Missouri Mavericks have signed defenseman Eric Meland. The move became necessary as the team placed forward Trevor Kell on the 14-day injured reserve and defenseman Dave Pszenyczny on the 7-day injured reserve.
“As I have said many times this season,” Mavericks coach Scott Hillman said, “I have never experienced a season with the number of injuries this team has had to deal with this year. Right now, they happen and you just think, ‘Par for the course.’ It is so frustrating, for the players, for me personally and our fans.”
Hillman said the reason for placing Kell and Pszenyczny on the IR list now is so they will be ready when postseason play begins.
“You certainly want to climb as high in the standings as possible,” Hillman said, “but the ultimate goal is to win a championship and we want our players healthy and ready to go for the postseason.”
Meland, 23, recently completed his fourth season at Princeton University. The Grand Forks, N.D., native finished his collegiate career with 60 points on 16 goals and 44 assists in 118 games played. Prior to playing collegiately, the 6-foot, 185-pound defenseman played junior hockey for the Lincoln Stars in the United States Hockey League, where he had 34 points in 58 games in his final season.
“Eric is a great skater and handles the puck very well,” Hillman said. “He is very skilled with the puck and has the ability to move it efficiently up the ice. He is also adept to jumping into the rush in order to add additional offense. We are excited to add Eric to our lineup as we strive to bring our roster back to health during this final leg of the regular season in preparation for the playoffs.”
