SPHL Knoxville Ice Bears

Ice Bears Trade Fernandez For The Right Price

Published on August 22, 2013 under SPHL (SPHL)
Knoxville Ice Bears News Release


KNOXVILLE, TN - The Knoxville Ice Bears pulled the trigger today on the future of forward Tyler Fernandez and his standing with the club. In a move approved by the SPHL this morning, by sending the rights of Fernandez to the Peoria Rivermen in exchange for veteran defensemen Jason Price and future considerations in 2014.

After being inked as an unprotected free agent in the summer of 2012, the Brown University graduate finished third in points with 50 through 43 games of the SPHL schedule last season. Due to his excellent numbers and increasingly strong play, Fernandez earned a call-up to Greenville of the ECHL where he dressed in 8 games before being released back to the Ice Bears in early March for the stretch run. A late waiver claim by the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL and after the SPHL movement deadline, Fernandez elected to accept the call-up after playing one game upon his return to Knoxville and in doing so, forfeited his eligibility to return to Knoxville for post-season play.

Knoxville protected Fernandez and retained his rights during the off-season, but the uncertainty of his career path in the SPHL and the potential interest of more ECHL teams, the chances of Fernandez returning to Knoxville for the 2013-2014 season were uncertain.

In Fernandez, the Ice Bears give up a fast and exciting player who flourished offensively last season after being paired with another breakout player in Ice Bears' center man Eric Satim. In exchange Knoxville is are able to add a proven player in Price who will be able to step in and make an impact immediately. The 6'3", 200 lbs. native of Farmington Hills, MI and a veteran of 345 professional games, is a strong and steady defenseman who will bring a physical presence to Knoxville and help stabilize an already impressive group of returning blueliners.

"After some pretty untimely call-ups last season I felt like it was time to move in a different direction with Tyler's rights," said head coach Mike Craigen who facilitated the move. "Tyler was a great player for us last season and really helped kick start our offense, but it's tough to build a team around someone and then not have them there for the games that ultimately count the most. I'm just trying to avoid that happening again with this move."

The Ice Bears are now able to negotiate contract terms with Price before camps open on October 13th, he will be join returning defensemen Mark Van Vliet, Jeremy Klaver and Brad Pawlowski who were signed earlier this summer. With his 345 games played, Price is deemed a veteran by SPHL regulations and is now the third veteran player the Ice Bears own the rights to along with Van Vliet and captain David Segal.

"I'm pretty excited to add a player of Jason's reputation to our backend. I've always had a lot of respect for him from both playing and coaching against him and I believe he'll bring a great deal of experience and poise not only to our d-core but to our locker room as well." Commented Craigen Tuesday afternoon.

The Ice Bears will kick off their season on November 1st when they host the defending SPHL champion Pensacola Ice Flyers in a rematch of the 2013 SPHL semi-final matchup. Ticket plans are on sale now and individual tickets will go on sale October 1, 2013.

The Knoxville Ice Bears will be sponsoring the Third Annual Adopt a Golden Charity Golf Classic at Gettysvue Golf and Country Club. The event will be held on Monday, August 26, 2013. Season, Partial and Flex Tickets are now on sale. For more information, visit www.knoxvilleicebears.com or call (865) 525-7825.

Check out the Knoxville Ice Bears Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



SPHL Stories from August 22, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central