Generals Hook a Couple of Big Fish

February 15, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Greensboro Generals News Release


Greensboro, NC — The Greensboro Generals of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) has announced a three-player trade with the Baton Rouge Kingfish. The Generals have acquired centers Bryan Richardson and Mike Oliveira from the Kingfish in exchange for center Chris Bell and an undisclosed amount of cash. All three players will report to their teams, with both Richardson and Oliveira making their Generals' debut tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 when they host the Roanoke Express.

Richardson, 29, is clearly the linchpin of the deal. The 5'9", 190-pound pivotman leaves Baton Rouge and enters Greensboro as both team's leading scorer, having posted 24 goals and 28 assists for 52 points in 50 games. Richardson's career numbers are even more impressive, pocketing 411 points (165g, 246a) in 378 career games. Despite his experience, however, Richardson is not considered a veteran player by ECHL standards due to a couple of seasons played in Europe.

Oliveira, 23, is a fourth year forward who has eleven goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 48 games this year. The 5'11", 195-pound centerman has 115 career points(51g, 64a) in 222 career games.

"We needed to find another go-to guy on this club and we needed to improve our team speed, and we've done exactly that in getting Richardson and Oliveira," says Generals head coach Rick Adduono (ah-DOO-no). "Bryan has proven year after year how productive and how dynamic a player he is, and Mike will add a certain dimension to this club we really haven't had with his skating ability. They're both thrilled to come here with the hopes and expectations of winning a championship."

The Generals were forced to part ways with Bell to acquire Richardson and Oliveira. Bell had 15 goals and 20 assists for 35 points in 51 games for Greensboro this year, and led the Generals with 50 points (17g, 33a) in the 2001-02 campaign. "Chris was not a player I wanted to give up, but when you have a chance to pick up a player like Bryan Richardson, sometimes you just don't have much of a choice," stated Adduono.



ECHL Stories from February 15, 2003


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