Steelheads receive three from affiliates

Boise, ID (10/15/13) - Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Brad Ralph announced Tuesday that the ECHL's Idaho Steelheads have received a trio of players - forward Taylor Vause, defenseman Hubert Labrie and defenseman Ryan Button - from its affiliates in Texas and Dallas.Labrie and Button have been assigned to Idaho by the NHL's Dallas Stars while Vause has been assigned to Idaho by the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.Idaho (ECHL) and Texas (AHL) are the primary development affiliates of the Dallas Stars.Labrie, 22, has appeared in 60 games at the AHL level and another 53 at the ECHL level with the Idaho Steelheads over the past two seasons. Twenty-three of those games have come in the postseason for the Steelheads as he has been a key figure on Idaho's blue line each of the past two postseasons.Vause (pronounced VAWZ), also 22, has skated in 62 AHL games with the Texas Stars since turning pro at the end of the '11-'12 season. He initially signed an ECHL deal with Idaho in the offseason but made Texas's opening-night roster out of training camp and signed a new AHL contract last week.Button, 22 as well, has played 65 AHL games and another 35 ECHL games since turning pro in March of '11. He split last season between Providence of the AHL and South Carolina of the ECHL before being traded over the summer by the Boston Bruins organization to the Dallas Stars as part of the Tyler Seguin/Loui Erikkson swap.Idaho opens the regular season on Friday, October 18, at the Utah Grizzlies.The 17th season of professional hockey gets underway at CenturyLink Arena on October 23 when the Idaho Steelheads host the San Francisco Bulls. Season-Ticket packages are available now, starting at just $275 per seat for all 36 home games. Partial-season packages are available as well. Contact the Idaho Steelheads front office at 208-383-0080 for more information.