FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 27, 2020

K-WINGS MAKE ANOTHER TRADE, RECEIVE TWO FROM UTICA

Team acquires Naas from Idaho on the same day Utica loans a pair of defenseman to Kalamazoo.

KALAMAZOO, MI – The Kalamazoo Wings, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, announced multiple transactions Thursday ahead of the team’s weekend road trip.

Kalamazoo acquired forward Spencer Naas from the Idaho Steelheads in exchange for the ECHL rights to veteran forward Yannick Veilleux.

Additionally, Vancouver assigned defensemen Mitch Eliot and Josh Teves from the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets to the K-Wings.

Naas, 24, had eight goals and 16 points in 46 games for the Steelheads this season after splitting the 2018-19 campaign between Idaho and the AHL’s Texas Stars. The St. Louis Park, Minnesota native spent four seasons at the University of Connecticut, before turning pro in 2017-18, posting four goals and seven points in 12 games for the Cleveland Monsters.

Veilleux, 27, totaled six goals and 19 points in 22 games for the K-Wings before signing a professional tryout with the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Dec. 19. The veteran from St-Hippolyte, Quebec has eight goals and 13 points in 21 games since his call-up and signed an AHL contract Feb. 11.

Eliot, 22, returns to Kalamazoo where he has one goal in five games this season. The rookie defenseman from Orange County, California also has two goals and five points in 24 AHL games for the Comets. He signed with Vancouver in December 2018 during his final season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Sarnia Sting.

Teves, 25, makes his second trip to Kalamazoo after scoring one goal and adding an assist in two games for the Wings during his first stint earlier this month. The rookie out of Princeton University has two assists in 26 AHL games for Utica and made his NHL debut last March with the Canucks following his senior season.

The K-Wings take on the Indy Fuel at 7:35 p.m. Friday at Indiana Farmers Coliseum, before heading to Independence, Missouri to face the Kansas City Mavericks at 8:05 p.m. ET Saturday at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. Both games can be heard on 1660 AM in Kalamazoo or viewed on ECHL TV online.

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The Kalamazoo Wings are a professional hockey team located in southwest Michigan that has been a staple in the Kalamazoo, MI professional sports landscape since 1974. The K-Wings compete in the ECHL and are the AA affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks. Kalamazoo plays their 36 regular season home games at Wings Event Center from October through April.

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