Idaho Steelheads Of The ECHL Will Have Five More Returning Players From Last Years Championship Team

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com – Boise Idaho - Idaho Steelheads Head Coach Derek Laxdal continues to build his 2006-07 team with the addition of Mike Gabinet, Blake Forsyth, Kory Scoran, Taggart Desmet and Kyle Bruce, all returning from last season’s championship team. Terms of their agreements with the the Steelheads have not been disclosed, per Club policy.

Drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in round 8 (#237 overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, defenseman Gabinet has been plagued with injuries since joining Idaho’s roster in 2005-06. After beginning last season in NHL camp with the New York Rangers, the 26-year-old tallied 21 points (4g-17a) in 40 games before missing the end of the season and the playoffs with a lower extremity injury. He began the 2005-06 season in the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers training camp, then played 22 games with Idaho, accumulating 16 points (2g-14a), and on a call up with Idaho’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Stars, played in 18 games. The 6’3”, 220-pounder had that season shortened as he suffered from a high-ankle sprain. Before turning professional, Gabinet played four seasons at the University of Nebraska-Omaha where he received numerous accolades. He excelled at his hometown Edmonton, AB high school as a Quarterback winning three consecutive Provincial Football Championships.

Defenseman Forsyth followed Coach Laxdal to the Steelheads from the CHL’s Witchita Thunder and enters his third season with Idaho. In the past two seasons, the 6’2”, 215-pound Winnipeg, MB native has played in 120 games with the Steelheads, registering 34 points (6g-28a). In 2005-06, Forsyth was named Top Defenseman as voted on by his Steelheads teammates. Prior to one season in the CHL, the 28-year-old played four seasons in the CIS with the University of Manitoba.

Scoran, 26, who also hails from Winnipeg, played four collegiate seasons with Lake Superior State before beginning his professional career with Idaho. Highlights of Scoran’s first pro season in 2006-07 were attending Iowa Stars training camp and being named as the Steelheads’ Most Improved Player as voted on by his teammates. In 68 games played with Idaho, the blueliner has tallied 21 points (2g-19a) including scoring the game-winning goal in double overtime, his first playoff GWG, and an assist in a 2-1 double-overtime win at Dayton in Game Four of the Kelly Cup Finals.

Forwards Desmet and Bruce will both be entering their second seasons with Idaho. Desmet, 25 and 6’1”, 210-pounds, played 65 games with the Steelheads in 2006-07 notching 29 points (11g-18a). The rookie centerman netted the game-winning goal in a 3-2 OTW at Alaska in Game Two of the National Conference Finals. Prior to Idaho, the Alberta native played 12 games with the ECHL’s Victoria Salmon Kings, registering 17 points (3g-14a) in 12 games. He spent three seasons with Michigan Tech earning Rookie of the Year honors after finishing third on the Huskies with 26 points. Bruce, a Florida Panthers, 8th round (#231 overall) pick in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, began the 2006-07 season in the Iowa Stars training camp, then played in just seven games with the Steelheads before suffering a lower body injury which kept him out the remainder of the regular season. The 24-year-old who stands 6’0” and weighs 200-pounds, made his return to the lineup and appeared in his first professional playoff game, a 3-0 win versus Stockton in Game Two of the National Conference Quarter Finals.

The Idaho Steelheads are the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Dallas Stars and AHL’s Iowa Stars.