Steelheads Acquire Defenseman Colton Saucerman From Manchester

BOISE, Idaho – The Idaho Steelheads have acquired defenseman Colton Saucerman from the Manchester Monarchs in exchange for forwards Jack Nevins and Joe Pendenza, Steelheads Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Neil Graham announced Tuesday.

Saucerman, 26, played 12 games with the Monarchs this season, tallying one goal and three assists for four points with 23 penalty minutes. The Colorado Springs, Colo., native brings 126 games of ECHL experience between the Monarchs and South Carolina Stingrays since 2015-16, recording 11 goals and 69 assists for 80 points. Last season, the 5-foot-9, 191-pound defenseman totaled 41 points (five goals, 36 assists) through 57 games, earning career-highs in all major scoring categories while spending three different stints in the AHL with the Providence Bruins, Ontario Reign and Springfield Thunderbirds. Saucerman has been loaned to AHL clubs five times in the last two seasons.

Previous to his time in professional hockey, Saucerman played four seasons at Northeastern University, helping the program to the 2016 Hockey East Championship and leading the team in ice time that same season. Through 140 career collegiate games, he earned 20 goals and 44 assists for 64 points with 14 power play goals including seven during his junior season, during which he shared the most power play goals for a defenseman in the country.

Pendenza, 27, played 11 games with the Steelheads this season, recording three goals and four assists for seven points.

Nevins, 25, has appeared in eight games in 2018-19, recording 11 penalty minutes.

In a separate transaction, the Dallas Stars have assigned defenseman Ondrej Vala to the Steelheads from the Texas Stars (AHL). Vala, 20, played two games during his first call-up to AHL Texas. The Kolin, Czech Rep. product added one assist through six games with the Steelheads prior to his recall on October 27. He now has two assists through 11 professional games with a plus-four rating.

The Steelheads return to CenturyLink Arena this Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 7:10 p.m. against the Rapid City Rush. Single-game tickets and season ticket packages are on sale, with full-season packages starting as low as $300 per seat. Contact the Idaho Steelheads at 208-383-0080 for more information or log on to idahosteelheads.com.