Condors Trade with Gladiators for Slonina
September 16, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Bakersfield Condors News Release
The Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL pulled off their third trade of the off-season, landing RW Steve Slonina from the Gwinnett Gladiators in exchange for cash considerations. The Condors also signed their sixth defenseman this summer, Chris Twerdun. Bakersfield now has 15 players under contract. Slonina (slow-NEE-na), 23, enters his second season in the professional ranks after making his debut with the Gladiators. He finished the year strong, totaling 20 goals and 37 points for Gwinnett, who finished the season with 42 wins and 92 points in the standings, advancing to the Western Conference Finals before bowing out to eventual league champion Idaho.
The native of Abington, Massachusetts was one of six players who scored at least 20 goals for the Gladiators last season, and also put together a six- game point scoring streak late in the year. Slonina also played two games for the Lowell Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League, in the same town he played four years of college. As a senior at the University of Massachusetts - Lowell, he finished second in assists and points while leading the team in penalty minutes.
Twerdun (TWER-dun), 26, played his first professional season in 2003-04, suiting up mainly for Kaufbeuren in the German Bundisliga (first division), where he racked up 11 points in just 27 games. He returned to North America at the tail end of the season to play for Odessa in the Central Hockey League, scoring nine points in 11 games. He played three years of college hockey with the highly respected program at Acadia University in Nova Scotia. He also played five seasons in the junior ranks of the Western Hockey League. The Chicago Blackhawks drafted Twerdun in the eighth round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft.
Of the fifteen players introduced this season for the Condors, ten of them are 26 years old or younger, with an average age of 25.8 years old.
"Suddenly we just got a whole lot faster and younger with Slonina," said Head Coach Marty Raymond. "We have acquired a speedy, aggressive player who is good around the net. He's an American kid too, which is a bonus. Twerdun is a young defenseman who has the potential to move up to the next level. He looks like a fantastic rookie player for us."
Stats for Slonina and Twerdun are listed below. The Condors have six defensemen signed, with Twerdun joining Ryan Coole, Guy Dupuis, Ryan Gillis, David Kudelka and Luis Tremblay. At forward, Slonina joins Todd Alexander, Mike Hofstrand, Brett Lutes, Jon Mirasty, Lars Peder Nagel, Paul Rosebush and Kevin St. Jacques. Goaltender Sean Fields is also signed for 2004-05.
The Bakersfield Condors season opens in 37 days at home on October 22nd against the expansion Victoria Salmon Kings. Ticket packages are on sale now for as low as $30. Contact the BSE office at 324-PUCK (7825) for more information.
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ECHL Stories from September 16, 2004
- Sea Wolves Announce Preseason Road Games - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Condors Trade with Gladiators for Slonina - Bakersfield Condors
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