By: Mark Binetti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Veteran defenseman joins Swamp Rabbits from AHL with nine games remaining in the season
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, announced today via a Swamp Rabbit Moving Transaction that veteran defenseman Sam Jardine has re-joined the Swamp Rabbits from the American Hockey League ahead of their three-game weekend. In a separate transaction, rookie defenseman Joshua Karlsson has been suspended by the team, but he retains his ECHL playing rights in Greenville.
Jardine returns to the Swamp Rabbits after spending the entire season to this point in the American Hockey League with the Calgary Wranglers. The 6’2”, 210-pound blueliner appeared in 14 games for his hometown AHL team, earning three assists in that time.
From Lacombe, Alberta, Jardine originally signed an ECHL Standard Player Contract at the beginning of the 2023-24 season before being invited to Wranglers training camp and subsequently making their roster. Earning the opportunity in Calgary put Jardine in the AHL for the first time since the 2018-19 season when he skated with the Toronto Marlies in 37 games, earning a goal and seven points. In his AHL career, he’s played with the Wranglers, Marlies, San Antonio Rampage, and Rockford Ice Hogs, compiling four goals, 12 assists, and 16 points in 85 contests.
Jardine, 30, last played for the Swamp Rabbits in the 2020-21 ECHL campaign and was a key piece in the team’s run to the Eastern Conference Finals, rattling off 44 points (3g-41ast) in 67 regular season games and adding another goal in six Kelly Cup Playoff contests. He was named an ECHL First Team All-Star for his efforts that season.
Overall, in his professional career of nine seasons, Jardine brings 424 games across the AHL, ECHL, EIHL (United Kingdom), Liiga (Finland), and ICEHL (Slovakia), and 148 points back to the Upstate. Among the many accolades of his career, Jardine captured two ECHL Kelly Cup Championships, one with the Colorado Eagles in 2017 and his most recent in the inaugural season of the Newfoundland Growlers in 2019. Before turning professional, he played three seasons of NCAA college hockey with Ohio State University and preceded his collegiate years with the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Camrose Kodiaks for a trio of campaigns.
The Swamp Rabbits return home for a brief spell of games, beginning Thursday against the Savannah Ghost Pirates. Puck drop for March 28th is slated for 7:05 p.m. at Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
About the Greenville Swamp Rabbits …
Acquired by Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) in 2020, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team has been providing family-friendly, live entertainment at Bon Secours Wellness Arena since 2010. Formerly, the Greenville Road Warriors and the Swamp Rabbits are the highest-level professional minor league franchise in South Carolina. The Swamp Rabbits are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s LA Kings and the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Greenville is an ECHL Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League member.
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