Monsters announce five roster additions
Jan 21, 2021The AHL’s Cleveland Monsters announced Thursday that veteran forward Nick Lappin signed an AHL contract with the club, rookie forwards Tyler Angle and Luke Moncada signed amateur tryout (ATO) agreements with Cleveland, and two defensemen were loaned to the Monsters, Brandon Fortunato by the NHL’s Nashville Predators and Evan Polei by the NHL’s St. Louis Blues.
A 6’1”, 174 lb. right-shooting native of Geneva, IL, Lappin, 28, posted 5-6-11 with eight penalty minutes and a -13 rating in 42 appearances for the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage last season. In 60 NHL appearances for the New Jersey Devils spanning parts of three seasons from 2016-19, Lappin tallied 5-3-8 with 21 penalty minutes and a -21 rating. In 210 AHL appearances for the Albany Devils, Binghamton Devils, and San Antonio spanning parts of five seasons from 2015-20, Lappin contributed 72-62-134 with 103 penalty minutes and a -54 rating. Prior to his professional career, Lappin supplied 51-55-106 with 79 penalty minutes and a -6 rating in 123 NCAA appearances for Brown University spanning four seasons from 2012-16. During his time at Brown, Lappin was named to the 2015-16 ECAC First All-Star Team and earned 2015-16 All-Ivy League First Team and 2014-15 All-Ivy League Second Team honors. In three USHL seasons with the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders and the Tri-City Storm from 2009-12, Lappin contributed 40-40-80 with 86 penalty minutes and a -33 rating in 137 appearances.
A 5’10”, 172 lb. left-shooting native of Niagara Falls, ON, Angle, 20, notched 29-38-67 with 38 penalty minutes and a +13 rating in 62 appearances for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires last season. Originally selected by Columbus in the seventh round (212th overall) of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Angle supplied 61-71-132 with 120 penalty minutes and a -20 rating in 228 OHL appearances, all for Windsor, spanning parts of four seasons from 2016-20.
A 6’1”, 216 lb. left-shooting native of Markham, ON, Moncada, 20, registered 34-26-60 with 45 penalty minutes and a -4 rating in 62 appearances for the OHL’s North Bay Battalion last season. In four OHL seasons from 2016-20 with the Guelph Storm and North Bay, Moncada supplied 51-55-106 with 134 penalty minutes and a -37 rating in 234 appearances.
A 5’11”, 170 lb. left-shooting native of Albertson, NY, Fortunato, 24, tallied 2-19-21 with 8 penalty minutes and a +1 rating in 48 appearances for the ECHL’s Florida Everblades last season, the first professional action of his career. In four NCAA seasons, from 2014-16 with Boston University and 2017-19 with Quinnipiac University, Fortunato posted 16-60-76 with 24 penalty minutes and a +30 rating in 142 combined appearances. During his collegiate career, Fortunato helped BU claim the 2014-15 Hockey East Regular Season and Tournament Championships. In 64 USHL appearances for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program spanning parts of two seasons from 2012-14, Fortunato contributed 1-25-26 with 10 penalty minutes and a +16 rating. Fortunato also helped Team USA capture the Bronze Medal at the 2016 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship.
A 6’2”, 229 lb. left-shooting native of Wetaskiwin, AB, Polei, 24, notched 1-3-4 with 37 penalty minutes and an even rating in 21 appearances last season for San Antonio. In 105 AHL appearances for the Bakersfield Condors and San Antonio spanning parts of four seasons from 2016-20, Polei registered 14-19-33 with 179 penalty minutes and a +2 rating. Polei supplied 8-9-17 with 79 penalty minutes and a +6 rating in 32 appearances for the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder during the 2017-18 season and prior to his professional career, Polei posted 72-59-131 with 307 penalty minutes and a +1 rating in 242 WHL appearances for the Saskatoon Blades and Red Deer Rebels spanning parts of four seasons from 2013-17.