Jacksonville Icemen | Icemen Receive Five Players from AHL Rochester

JACKSONVILLE, FL – The Jacksonville Icemen, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and the AHL’s Rochester Americans announced today the following roster transactions:

Forwards Damien Giroux, Riley Fiddler-Schultz, Dominick Mersch and defensemen Nicolas Savoie and Chris Jandric have all been assigned to the Icemen by Rochester (AHL).

Giroux, 23, joins the Icemen after playing the last three seasons with the AHL’s Iowa Wild where he totaled 48 points (13g, 35a) in 149 AHL games. Last season, Giroux made his NHL debut appearing in one game with the Minnesota Wild recording an assist in the contest. The 5-10, 177-pound forward had a productive junior career with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit totaling 194 points with 101 goals in 249 career games.

Fiddler-Schultz, 21, enters his first professional season after logging 75 points (31g, 44a) in 64 games played last season with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Fidder-Schultz served as captain for the Hitmen last season, and accumulated 189 career points in 246 career WHL games. The 6-0, 183-pound forward is the son of former NHL forward Vern Fiddler, who appeared in 877 NHL games split between the Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils.

Mersch, 24, signed with the Icemen this summer after wrapping up a five-year collegiate career at the University of Wisconsin last season. The 6-0, 190-pound forward totaled 37 career points and captained the Badgers during the 2022-23 season. Following graduation this past spring, Mersch made his professional debut with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, appearing in two games. .

Savoie, 21, begins his professional career after winning a Memorial Cup Championship last season with the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts. Savoie registered 48 points (7g, 41a) in 65 regular season outings last season. The 6-0, 183-pound blue liner finished his major junior career with a productive 130 points (28g, 102a) in five seasons with the Remparts.

Jandric, 25, enters his rookie season after concluding his senior season at the University of North Dakota last season where he collected 33 points (4g, 29a) in 39 games. Following the season, Jandric made one appearance with the Rochester Americans last spring, logging an assist in the game. The 5-10, 181-pound defenseman finished his collegiate career with 85 points (13g, 72a) which includes time at North Dakota and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

The following is an updated listing of the Icemen’s training camp roster following today’s transactions:

Goaltenders
30 – Matt Vernon
31 - Joe Murdaca

Defensemen
2 – Chris Jandric
3 – Jack Van Boekel
4 – Sean Leonard (PTO)
5 – Brandon Fortunato
6 - Nicolas Savoie
7 – Connor Russell
12 – Julian Kislin
14 – Chays Ruddy
15 – Jacob Panetta
18 – Garret Cockerill
28 – Ivan Chukarov

Forwards
8 – Michael Turner
9 – Bailey Conger (PTO)
10 – Christopher Brown
11 – Victor Hadfield
13 – Chris Grando
16 – Derek Lodermeier
19 – Matheson Iacopelli
20 – Riley Fiddler-Schultz
21 – Easton Brodzinski
22 - Luke Bignell
23 – Justin Cmunt (TO)
25 – Dominick Mersch
26 – Nick Isaacson
27 – Damien Giroux
29 – Craig Martin (IR)
39 – Steven Leonard (PTO)
41 – Carson Mackinnon
45 – Logan Cockerill
51 – Garrett Van Wyhe
83 – Brendan Harris