The Brampton Beast began their season with a rather short bench, just 10 forwards and eight defencemen.
The lack of forwards raised some eyebrows. Where would they find players to fill out the team, with both the Montreal Canadiens and St. John’s IceCaps seasons well underway?
That worry quickly faded when the Beast announced this week that they had added Angelo Miceli, a three-time Quebec Major Junior Hockey League 35-goal scorer.
At 21-years-old, the Montreal native had made the move from junior hockey to professional following a very successful junior hockey career with the Victoriaville Tigres, where he managed to score 118 goals and 161 assists good enough for 279 points in 255 games.
He capped-off his junior career with 38 goals and 96 points, earning a fifth-place finish in the QMJHL scoring.
Beast coach Colin Chaulk said on the team’s website: “We’re excited to get somebody who is a natural centre with scoring ability.”
“I watched him in London and in Montreal. We know he can score and we’re excited to have him”
He impressed the Canadiens, who in turn invited Miceli to their main training camp, where the team decided to offer him an AHL/ECHL contract.
He made a bang from the moment he stepped on the ice in St. John’s, where he scored his first pro goal in his second game with the IceCaps. They would go on to lose that game by a 6-1, against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
Miceli will be wearing a Beast uniform as Brampton plays their Home Opener this Friday, October 23 against the Adirondack Thunder, ECHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames.
You can attend the Beast’s highly-anticipated Home Opener for free by entering our contest.
