The Checkers shored up their thin roster heading into a meeting with Manitoba by signing a pair of forwards.
Charlotte inked Derek Arnold to a professional tryout contract and Brian Ward to an amateur tryout contract.
Arnold, 26, has spent the majority of his first North American pro season with the ECHL’s Manchester Monarchs, ranking fourth on the team with 30 points (16g, 14a) in 42 games. The native of Foxboro, MA, has also logged nine AHL games this year, going scoreless in quick stints with both the Ontario Reign and the Portland Pirates.
Prior to turning pro, Arnold spent four years at UMass-Lowell, totaling 98 points (43g, 55a) in 154 games and helping lead the team to an Hockey East Championship in 2012-13. He then spent the 2014-15 campaign playing in Norway before returning to North America this season.
Ward, 24, joins the team after completing three seasons at St. Lawrence University. Also hailing from Massachusetts, the 6-foot-1 forward totaled 70 points (27g, 43a) in 112 games, including leading the team in scoring as a sophomore in 2014-15.
The addition of Arnold and Ward gives a boost to Charlotte’s thin forward corps, but it still sits short with just 10 options who finished Wednesday’s game. There is still a chance that they could regain some injured players in time for tonight’s tilt with the Moose.
