Matt McKnight
Adam Huxley
The Idaho Steelheads brought back two more players from last season’s roster on Wednesday, announcing the re-signing of forwards Matt McKnight and Adam Huxley.
So far, it seems that new head coach Hardy Sauter, who is also the director of hockey operations, is listening to his coaching staff. I have to think that he’s getting feedback and suggestions from the assistant coaches, trainers and veteran players. He’ll have his own guys to bring in, and I’m sure he’s contacted a few as well. But, by bringing in the guys who were key to last year’s success, he’s acknowledging them as the core of the team. I’m eager to see what the next month or so brings, in the way of signings.
As for McKnight and Huxley, here is the Idaho press release and the players’ stats:
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(Boise, ID) – Idaho Steelheads head coach and director of hockey operations Hardy Sauter announced Wednesday that two more players – both members of the 2010 National Conference championship team – have signed contracts for the 2010-2011 season.
Forwards Adam Huxley and Matt McKnight are the seventh and eighth players to sign contracts with Idaho for the upcoming season and all eight skated for the Steelheads last season.
“Obviously, I’m aware of what last year’s team did on the ice,” said Sauter, who is heading into his first season as Idaho’s head coach. “But, in doing my research, I’ve also learned about the quality and character of the players as individuals and I want to retain that core.”
McKnight will be entering his third season with the Steelheads. He was acquired from the Las Vegas Wranglers early in the 2008-2009 season and has appeared in 110 regular-season games with Idaho. In that stretch, he has netted 23 goals and added 41 assists and has topped 30 points in each season. The Halkirk, Alberta, native also scored seven points (5 goals, 2 assists) in nine playoff appearances last season as Idaho reached the ECHL’s Kelly Cup finals.
Huxley, heading into his eighth season, is coming off his finest campaign as a professional. In his first season with the Steelheads, Huxley scored a career-best 21 points (7 goals, 14 assists) in 60 games while accumulating 210 penalty minutes as the team’s primary enforcer. The 26-year-old now has 30 goals in his career to go along with 1,330 penalty minutes at the ECHL level.
The other six players already signed to contracts by Sauter are defensemen Cody Lampl, Weston Tardy, Brendan Milnamow, and Dustin Molle along with forwards Geoff Irwin and Kael Mouillierat.
