The Checkers will be sporting some new faces in their lineup for this final road trip, as the team has signed Thomas Frazee to a professional tryout contract and Stephane Pattyn to an amateur tryout contract.
Frazee, 25, has appeared for three different teams this season in the ECHL, his first full year in the league, totaling 41 points (18g, 23a) in 67 games. The forward began his pro career last season in the CHL with Quad City, leading the team with 24 goals in 60 games.
Prior to turning pro, the six-foot-three Frazee spent six seasons in the WHL, totaling 188 points (72g, 116a) in 313 games for Portland, Moose Jaw, Medicine Hat, Regina and Kamloops. He also spent two seasons at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.
Pattyn, an undrafted 24-year-old, just finished his senior season at the University of North Dakota, where he served as team captain. In his four-year career with the Fighting Sioux, the forward recorded 41 points (19g, 22a) in 167 games and helped lead his team to back-to-back Frozen Fours in 2014 and 2015.
These moves, plus the PTO signing of Mario Lamoureux, announced earlier today, give the Checkers three new forwards heading into their final road trip of the season, which kicks off Wednesday in Rockford.
