Admirals Make Trade, Welcome Three New Players

The Amherstburg Admirals completed a trade with the Wheatley Sharks and signed three more players for the upcoming season.

The club announced that they moved forward Stefan Jacobs and defenseman Braeden Armstrong to the Wheatley Sharks, in exchange for forward Brady Drouillard and defenseman Darby Drouillard. They then completed an active week of player movement by signing forward Kaden Juodikis.

Darby, the eldest of the Drouillard brothers will play as one of the team’s overagers and strengthens a blueline that should be much improved from last season. “I’ve known Darby for several years going back to his time with the LaSalle Vipers,” General Manager Andrew Sykes said. “He will bring a steadying presence to our blueline, on top of being a true leader on and off the ice.” The 21-year-old LaSalle native had a long career at the Jr. B level with the Vipers before joining the Sharks where his brother was already playing his rookie season. With Wheatley he tallied six goals and 14 points in 30 regular-season game, and while offense isn’t what he’s known for, it is something Sykes is excited about. “We know Darby is going to bolster our in-zone defending with his size and strength, but he will also be able to chip in on offense.” Sykes said. “He has one of, if not the hardest point-shot in the league, and it is a weapon that leads to offense.”

Brady, two years younger than his brother, joins the Admirals after a solid rookie season with Wheatley. The 19-year-old potted nine goals and totalled 19 points, despite playing mainly third and fourth line minutes on a team that focused heavily on their older players. “Brady impressed me a lot throughout the year,” Sykes said of the younger Drouillard. “He eclipsed the expectations I had and proved he can be a good player in this league. He gives us some size down the middle which is something we wanted, he’s good on draws, and he works well down-low to generate offense.”

Following the trade, Sykes was quick to add more size up front by signing 6’3, 220 pound winger Kaden Juodikis. A LaSalle native, Juodikis had stepped away from hockey to focus on football with the Windsor Lancers, but rediscovered the itch for hockey. “I saw Kaden at LaSalle Vipers Spring Camp and for someone who hadn’t been on skates in awhile, he did very well. He is a big body who is equipped to play a strong, grinding game as a winger and can put the puck in the net with a heavy shot,” Sykes said of the 19-year-old. Juodikis played his minor hockey with both the AAA Windsor Jr. Spitfires and LaSalle Sabres before pausing his hockey career. “We fully understand that it may take a little time to find his feet, but we know he has plenty of good hockey in him and it is going to be to our advantage when it comes out.”

“We are very happy to bring Brady, Darby and Kaden into the fold. All three expressed a desire to play for the Admirals and before anything else that is most important. You always want players who want to be there and who have the right attitudes. They are all team-first guys who are driven by doing whatever they can to help the team and at the end of the day that’s the biggest thing you want from your players.”

The Admirals Training Camp is now less a month away as it is scheduled for August 23-25. The team has one exhibition game scheduled at this point and will open the regular-season on September 14 in Lakeshore, before playing their home opener the following night against Dresden.