CRAWFORD: WOLF PACK SIGN DEFENSEMAN JOEY LEACH TO PTO
Fifth-year Pro Joins Hartford from South Carolina of ECHL
BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, February 20, 2018: Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Chris Drury announced today that the Wolf Pack has signed defenseman Joey Leach to a Professional Tryout (PTO) agreement.
Leach, who is in his fifth year of pro hockey out of the Western Hockey League, has skated in 48 games with the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL this season. The 6-4, 211-pound native of Wadena, Saskatchewan has scored four goals and added 14 assists for 18 points, while serving 59 minutes in penalties. He is also a +12 on the year, which is second-best among South Carolina defensemen and fourth-best overall on the team and ranks second among Stingray blueliners in assists.
Last season, Leach logged 18 AHL games with the Hershey Bears, posting three assists, 35 penalty minutes and a +8. In 35 ECHL contests with South Carolina in 2016-17, Leach tallied four goals and 16 assists for 20 points and posted 63 penalty minutes and a +8.
In 41 career AHL games, with the Bears, Lake Erie Monsters and Oklahoma City Barons, the 26-year-old Leach has totaled seven assists and 59 penalty minutes. He has suited up for 252 ECHL games, with the Stingrays, Fort Wayne Komets, and Bakersfield Condors, and amassed 16 goals and 66 assists for 82 points, along with 358 PIM. Leach led all ECHL players in plus/minus in 2015-16, with a +40 in 58 games for South Carolina.
Prior to turning pro, Leach skated in 274 WHL games over five seasons (2008-09 through 2012-13) with the Kootenay Ice, registering career totals of 27 goals and 107 assists for 134 points, plus 299 penalty minutes. He was a third-round selection (73rd overall) by the Calgary Flames in the 2010 NHL Draft.
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