Idaho lands pair of WHL champs

Boise, ID (8/17/2015) – Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Neil Graham announced Tuesday that the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads have agreed to terms with defenseman Cole Martin and forward Chance Braid.

The two were teammates last season with the Kelowna Rockets, champions of the Western Hockey League and runner-up in the prestigious Memorial Cup tournament.

“Cole is a smart hockey player who possesses good mobility, a player that takes pride in the defensive side of the ice,” Graham said. “And Chance is a big, strong power forward that plays with speed and creates space for himself and his linemates and brings physicality to the lineup every night. Both players bring a winning attitude to the locker room.”

Martin, 21, posted a plus/minus rating over the past three seasons (including playoffs) of a whopping plus-163 over 262 games, including last spring’s Memorial Cup.  In his final season with the Rockets, he ranked third in the regular season among the team’s defensemen with 29 points (seven goals, 32 assists).  During the 2013-14 regular season, the Texas native posted a plus-61 rating, tops in the entire WHL.  Only one North American player, major-junior or pro, had a higher plus/minus rating that season.

Braid was acquired mid-season by the Rockets from Prince George of the WHL.  In 65 combined regular-season games, he posted 24 points (13 goals, 11 assists) and 78 penalty minutes.  He appeared in all five games for Kelowna in the Memorial Cup, scoring a goal and adding an assist.  The 20-year-old winger had 31 fighting majors to his credit in the WHL, winning 24 and losing just once (six draws).

The Steelheads open the regular season on Friday, October 16, at home against the Rapid City Rush.  It is the first of 36 home games, each of which will be played at CenturyLink Arena.

Season tickets are on sale now with full-season packages starting as low as $275 per seat for all 36 home games.  Partial-season packages are also available.  Contact the Idaho Steelheads at 208-383-0080 for more information or log on to www.idahosteelheads.com.