Vause agrees to terms with Steelheads

Boise, ID (8/19/13) - Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Brad Ralph announced Monday that the Idaho Steelheads have agreed to terms with forward Taylor Vause.Vause (pronounced VAWZ) will be playing his second professional season after spending last season with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League. In 55 games with Texas, Vause scored four goals and added 13 assists. He also spent five games with Texas at the end of the 2011-12 season, giving him a total of 60 games' experience at the AHL level. The AHL is the highest level of minor-league hockey in North America.Ralph on Vause: "Taylor brings speed and a very good skill set to our lineup. He'll be used in all situations, is a high-character player and has a terrific work ethic. We're really excited to add him to the team."Prior to his AHL experience, Vause played 273 games for the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League. In that time, he picked up 190 points, including 83 (37 goals, 46 assists) in his final season of major-junior play in 2011-12. He earned eight team awards following that season, including team MVP, as well as the WHL's Humanitarian Award. Four of his five seasons in Swift Current - and last season in Texas - were spent alongside former Steelhead standout Justin Dowling.In 349 games, between the AHL and WHL, the 21-year-old Vause has a combined total of just 81 penalty minutes.Vause is the second forward with AHL experience to be added to Idaho's training camp roster, joining Gaelan Patterson. Patterson is also a WHL product, having played for the Saskatoon Blades from 2006 to 2010.Other players on Idaho's training-camp roster at this point - F Brett Robinson, F Grant Blakey, D Colin Dueck, D Dalton Reum, D Connor Goggin and D James Isaacs.Idaho opens the regular season on October 18 at Utah. The team's home opener is Wednesday, October 23, at CenturyLink Arena in Boise against the San Francisco Bulls.Season Tickets for the 2013-14 season are available right now. After finishing last season with 45 wins and nearly 100 points in the standings, you won't want to miss any of the action this fall when the Steelheads take the ice. Full-season packages begin at as little as $275 per seat for all 36 home games. Partial-season packages are available as well. Contact the team's front office at 208-383-0080 and ask to speak to an account executive for more information.