The Vancouver Stealth re-signed eight players, including defenseman and team captain Curtis Hodgson to a one-year agreement and defenseman Matt Beers to a two-year deal. The team also re-signed goaltender Eric Penney to a two-year contract, defenseman Brad Kri and transition players Justin Salt, Jarrett Toll and Conrad Chapman to one-year contracts, while transition player Brandon Clelland signed a two-year deal. All signings are pending league approval.
“We are obviously very excited to have this group back with us this coming season,” said Stealth president and general manager Doug Locker in a team press release. “It’s especially big for us to have Matt (Beers) returning after being away last season, as he is such a big piece for us defensively. Curtis (Hodgson) had a very strong season on the floor and did a tremendous job as our captain, and we are extremely fortunate to have a player of his calibre back for another season with the Stealth.”
Hodgson is the longest serving Stealth player, playing all 10 seasons with the Stealth organization. The captain is the franchise’s all-time Leader in games played with 179, fourth in loose balls with 601 and 10th in penalty minutes with 96. The defenseman played in all 18 games last season, collecting 45 loose balls, causing 12 turnovers to go along with 5 points.
Beers has played five seasons, all with the Stealth. He missed the 2015 season due to work commitments. The 25-year old has collected 337 loose balls, caused 64 turnovers and scored 52 points in 80 career regular season games. Despite missing last season, he ranks second all-time in franchise history with 271 career penalty minutes and holds the Stealth record for most penalty minutes in a single-season with 70.
Penney is coming off a solid rookie campaign with Vancouver, where he suited up in all 18 games, starting in five of them. The 21 year old recorded his first career NLL win on April 12, when he was awarded the game’s first star after a 59-save performance against the New England Black Wolves. Penney was acquired in an off-season trade in 2014 from the Buffalo Bandits.
2015 marked Salt’s fourth season with the Stealth. As a transition player, he put up career highs last season with 10 goals, nine assists, 75 loose balls and 19 caused turnovers.
Kri finished his second season in Vancouver. The defenseman played 14 games last season, causing 19 turnovers, collecting 48 loose balls, while scoring five points.
Clelland, Chapman and Toll played their first years with the Stealth in 2015. Clelland played 10 games for the Stealth in his rookie year, scoring two goals, collecting 30 loose balls and causing six turnovers. Chapman suited up in eight games for Vancouver in 2015. The rookie notched five points, gathered 22 loose balls and caused six turnovers. Toll was signed as a free-agent on April 1. He tallied two points, collected 19 loose balls and caused five turnovers in five games.
