Nephew of NHL All-Star Pat Verbeek joins Mariners
BY: Michael Keeley, Maine Mariners
PORTLAND, ME – October 30, 2018 – The Laval Rocket of the AHL announced on Tuesday that the Montreal Canadiens have assigned forward Hayden Verbeek to the Maine Mariners. Hayden is the nephew of longtime NHLer and 1999 Stanley Cup Champion Pat Verbeek. He joins the Mariners after Montreal re-assigned forwards Antoine Waked and Michael Pezzetta from Maine to Laval on Sunday.
Verbeek, who just turned 21 on October 17th, signed a three-year entry-level contract with Montreal in March of this year. He wrapped up four full seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL, which saw him play a total of 250 career games. He was a 30 goal scorer for the Greyhounds in 2017-18, to go along with 31 assists, nearly doubling his point production from the previous season. He also served as an Alternate Captain. The native of Winchester, Ontario has played one game for Laval this year.
Hayden’s uncle Pat is currently the Assistant General Manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He played in the NHL for 20 years for the New Jersey Devils, Harford Whalers, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, and Detroit Red Wings. He captained the Whalers for four seasons and won a Stanley Cup with the Stars in 1999. The Verbeek hockey family also extends to Hayden’s father, Brian, two other uncles Gerard and Tim, cousin Kyle, and brother Ryan.
The Mariners host the Reading Royals this Friday night, November 2nd at the Cross Insurance Arena at 7:30 PM. It’s “Hockey Fights Cancer” Night, presented by Holiday Inn By the Bay. It’s also a “1-2-3 Friday”: $1 hot dogs $2 popcorn and $3 Bud Lights through the start of the second period. Single game tickets are on sale now at MarinersOfMaine.com or by calling the Trusted Choice Box office at 207-775-3458.
