Steelheads agree to terms with defenseman Rhett Holland

Boise, ID (3/20/17) –Steelheads Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Neil Graham confirmed on Monday that the team has agreed to terms with Michigan State University defenseman Rhett Holland on an ECHL contract. Holland is expected to join the Steelheads for their upcoming road trip to Wheeling.

Holland, 23, has played 139 games for the Spartans over the past five seasons. A fourth-round draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2012, the Calgary native collected four goals and 19 points in college, along with 194 penalty minutes. Holland recorded career-highs this season with three goals, five assists, and eight points at Michigan State, where he was a teammate of Steelheads defenseman Travis Walsh for four seasons.

The 6-foot-2 Holland played three seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League prior to college, skating for the Okotoks Oilers from 2009 to 2012 and serving as an assistant captain in his final year. Holland scored eight goals and recorded 32 points in 135 junior games, totaling 431 minutes in penalties. He was named an All-Star in 2011-12 and was nominated for the AJHL’s Defenseman of the Year Award.