Two MWJHL teams add players
MC Monarchs and Detroit Fighting Irish of the Midwest Jr. Hockey League have added to their respective rosters as both teams prep for the 2014-2015 season.
The Monarchs, a first-year entry into the MWJHL, have signed five players while the Fighting Irish has added some beef to its blueline.
FIVE WHO ARE MONARCHS
The new MC team has committed to five Michigan area players — defenceman-forward Dante Trapiss, forwards Kristian Alafriz and Josh Somers and defencemen Alec Domin and Jack Waller.
“I couldn’t be happier with our first set of signees,” said Monarchs head coach Jason McCrimmon. “We have had a lot of early interest in the program and made our choices based not only on past performance but on coachability. We have little interest in taking on another team’s baggage or a kid with a reputation for playing one-on-one hockey.”
Monarchs owner-general manager Mark Gilman said much work lies ahead.
“This is a good start but we have a lot of work to do and have a lot of positions to fill heading into our first season,” said Gilman. “Building a roster from scratch is a daunting task but we are looking forward to our next set of tryout-open skates, which begin this week.”
IRISH MUSCLE
Detroit, meanwhile, has officially tendered defenceman Austin McKibben, a 6-foot, 190 pounder who has a 1996 birth date.
“He will be able to step into our line up and play every night,” Fighting Irish coach-general manager Dan Vasquez said of McKibben.
Vasquez describes McKibben as a rugged player who will add muscle to the Fighting Irish lineup.
Meantime, the Fighting Irish continues to hold skates — that will continue throughout the summer — on Wednesday nights at 8:10 p.m. at the Ice Box Sports Center in Brownstown.
The Fighting Irish will then hold its main tryout camp from August 19 to 21 at the Ice Box.
For more information, visit the Fighting Irish website via http://sports.bluesombrero.com/detroitfightingirish.