EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – The Edmundston Blizzard is pleased to announce the acquisition of defenseman Parker Malchuk and goaltender Oliver Troop.
Malchuk, 19, played for the Dauphin Kings of the Manitobal Junior Hockey League (MJHL). Since his team has put the campaign aside due to the pandemic, he will be able to continue his season in Edmundston, but he will return to Dauphin next year. In 6 games with the Kings, he tallied 1 goal and 5 assists. Last year, the 5’10’’ defenseman had 8 goals and 20 assists in 48 games with Neepawa Natives and Portage Terriers of the Manitoba Leeague. Born in Birtle, Man., Malchuk played a full season in the Western Major Junior Hockey League with the Victoria Royals in 2018-19.
Troop is a tall 6’6’’ 20-year-old goalie from Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Last season, he played for the Trenton Golden Hawks of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League (OJHL). In 22 games, he had an excellent 2.45 goal-against average, along with a .915 save percentage and an impressive 16-3-1 record. In 2017-18, Troop played 4 games in the QMJHL with the Quebec Remparts and 5 more with the Amherst Ramblers in the MHL.
These new players join the three forwards (Andrew Bruder, Cole Stewart and Frédéryck Janvier) whose acquisition was announced last week.
“Our team resumed training on Sunday and the enthusiasm is evident. Players can’t wait to take the next step of playing games. We don’t know yet when it will be, but the Blizzard will be ready,” said team president André Lebel, who took the opportunity to thank the players and fans who have shown resilience during these long months of uncertainty.
Meanwhile, the Blizzard have announced that they will complete the season without the services of forward Samuel Grégoire, defenseman Alex MacKinnon and goalkeeper Antoine Lyonnais.
Gregoire left the team for personal reasons. Alex MacKinnon returned home by mutual agreement with the Blizzard to complete his school year in Nova Scotia. MacKinnon, who turns 18 next month, will be back next season in the Blizzard uniform. Due to decisions made by the Blizzard administration, Lyonnais no longer figures among the team’s plans.
“We thank these players for their contribution to the success of the team and wish them the best in the rest of their career and professional life,” said Mr. Lebel.
Since the arrival of the pandemic which forced the cancellation of the 2020 playoffs and put the current season in turmoil, the Blizzard management has always maintained a firm position to follow all health rules guidelines of the provincial government, in solidarity with the other MHL teams, in order to protect both team members, fans and the general public. Everyone within the team and the organization was informed and made aware regularly about the instructions to follow.
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Photos
Parker Malchuk (photo: Kings de Dauphin)
Oliver Troop (photo: Shawn Muir / OJHL Images)
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Contact: Hugues Chiasson, Edmundston Blizzard vice-president communications; (506) 740-0623 – cell phone