Monsters announce pair of roster moves
Apr 26, 2022The Cleveland Monsters announced Tuesday that defenseman Olivier LeBlanc and forward Jake Slaker have been recalled from the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings. In 16 appearances for the Monsters this season, LeBlanc posted 0-1-1 with four penalty minutes and a -1 rating and added 1-5-6 with six penalty minutes and a -9 rating in 19 appearances for Kalamazoo. In 13 appearances for Cleveland this year, Slaker supplied 1-0-1 with two penalty minutes and a -6 rating and added 19-22-41 with 14 penalty minutes and a -3 rating in 42 appearances for Kalamazoo.
A 5’10”, 183 lb. left-shooting native of San Diego, CA, Slaker, 25, contributed 3-10-13 with 35 penalty minutes and a -12 rating in 40 career AHL appearances for Cleveland and the Texas Stars spanning parts of two seasons from 2020-22. In 46 career ECHL appearances for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits and Kalamazoo spanning parts of two seasons from 2020-22, Slaker contributed 19-22-41 with 18 penalty minutes and a -5 rating.
Prior to his professional career, Slaker tallied 47-57-104 with 84 penalty minutes and a -14 rating in 143 NCAA appearances for the University of Michigan spanning four seasons from 2016-20 and added 34-33-67 with 123 penalty minutes and a -6 rating in 116 USHL appearances for the Fargo Force and Bloomington Thunder spanning parts of three seasons from 2013-16.
A 6’0”, 172 lb. left-shooting native of Quebec, QC, LeBlanc, 26, was selected by Columbus in the seventh round (197th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and registered 0-3-3 with 17 penalty minutes and a -1 rating in 28 career AHL appearances for the Belleville Senators and Cleveland spanning parts of two seasons from 2020-22.
Prior to his professional career, LeBlanc supplied 9-45-54 with 56 penalty minutes and a +21 rating in 85 appearances for the University of New Brunswick spanning three seasons from 2017-20, helping the school claim the 2017-18 and 2018-19 USports Championships and the 2018-19 USports University Cup Championship, earning a spot on the 2018-19 USports Second All-Star Team along the way. In 291 QMJHL appearances for the Saint John Sea Dogs and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles spanning five seasons from 2012-17, LeBlanc tallied 33-131-164 with 296 penalty minutes and a +14 rating. LeBlanc wore the captain’s “C” for Saint John in 2014-15 and Cape Breton in 2016-17.