Cardiff Devils Trio Sign For Ex-Coach Andrew Lord’s Swamp Rabbits

By Gareth James

Former Cardiff Devils head coach Andrew Lord has swooped to sign three players for his Greenville Swamp Rabbits club.

Defenceman Sam Jardine and forwards Joey Haddad and Mike McNamee will be part of the Swamp Rabbits training camp that starts on Friday.

The trio have all signed deals with the South Carolina-based outfit for the 2020-21 season amid the continuing uncertainly when elite ice hockey will resume in Britain.

Mike McNamee in action for Cardiff Devils Pic: Helen Brabon

“We’ve known for a while about this, we just waited until the news came out from the ECHL,” said Devils Managing Director Todd Kelman.

“I’m pleased for all of these guys, and for Andrew Lord. I obviously still speak to him regularly, and it is great for him to be able to offer these guys opportunities in the ECHL this season.”

“These guys are no different than Joey Martin, Gleason Fournier, Mark Richardson, Mark Louis, Sam Duggan or Evan Mosey – they all were able to find jobs in other leagues while the EIHL is on hold.

“They have our support to find jobs for the 2020-21 season and this is a great fit for them and for Andrew who gets three more quality players that know him and know his style of coaching.

Cardiff Devils player Sam Jardine battles in front of the net with a Mountifeld forward. Pic: Stanislav Soucek

“We wish them all well for the 2020-21 season, I have a feeling I will be watching a lot of Swamp Rabbits games online this year and so will a lot of Devils fans.”

The trio join up with Lord and former Devils defender Bryce Reddick who signed earlier this year after his team in Atlanta opted out of the coming ECHL campaign.