Ice Cats Trade for Coaching Candidate

October 17, 2003 - International Independent Hockey League (IIHL)
Ohio Valley Ice Cats News Release


The Ohio Valley Ice Cats added another coaching candidate to the mix today after pulling off the International Independent Hockey League's first trade.

The new Athens-based pro hockey club traded away three picks in the upcoming Marquee Draft to obtain rights to Jason Rapcewicz of Hamilton, Ontario.

Rapcewicz was claimed by the North Country Barnstormers on waivers earlier in the day after being released by the Northern Michigan Predators. The Predators had hired him Sept. 11 to fill an assistant coach role before hiring NHL veteran Craig Coxe as head coach, but had not reached a contract agreement yet for Rapcewicz to play.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pounder played last season as a right winger with the Quebec Aces in the Quebec Semi-Pro Hockey League and Dundas Real McCoys of OHA Senior A League. He's a native of Hamilton, Ontario.

Owners of the Ice Cats have not yet named a head coach, but have set an Oct. 22 deadline to make a decision, according to Mike Killbreath, President of Family Advantage Marketing, which holds the majority ownership of the franchise.

Rapcewicz is a definite candidate for either the Ice Cats head coaching position or assistant job although he is expected to go to training camp with a team in the South East Hockey League in hopes of playing there, according to Killbreath.

"We now have two other candidates we expect to interview this weekend, bringing the number of total candidates to eight, including Rapcewicz," Killbreath said. "We are anxious to talk with him."

Killbreath said it's his understanding Rapcewicz was released after the Predators learned he was going to camp in the SEHL.

The Ice Cats obtained rights to Rapcewicz by trading a No. 2 selection to the North Country Barnstormers in the upcoming Marquee Draft. They also gave away forward Garnet Walker and goaltender Robert Soliman to the Barnstormers as part of the deal.

Walker and Soliman had been obtained earlier in the day from the Predators in return for their No. 3 and No. 4 picks in the Marquee Draft. Soliman is from Sydney, Australia and he did his goaltending last season witht he Slovakian Lions. Walker is a forward from Innisfil, Ontario.

The draft picks in the four-round Marquee Draft were not wanted by the Ice Cats, according to Killbreath. "We saved one spot for a player/coach type with experience in AA or AAA who can be an impact player for us," he explained. "We intend to go with $500 per month guys across the board on our other 15 roster spots."

Teams can each designate one player as a "Franchise Player" and pay him whatever they want. They can have three other "Marquee Players" who can be paid substantially higher than others on the roster.

The IIHL's total salary cap is $3,000 on each of 15 paydays.



International Independent Hockey League Stories from October 17, 2003


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