Sports stats



Salmon Kings Sign Yannick Tifu

September 15, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Victoria Salmon Kings News Release


Victoria, BC - The Victoria Salmon Kings, proud affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks and Manitoba Moose, announce that they have signed center Yannick Tifu (TEE-foo) for the 2009-10 season.

Tifu has proven himself as one of the top players in the ECHL over the last three years. In 141 career ECHL games he has tallied 179 points (49 goals and 130 assists) for an average of 1.27 points per game. That is the second highest average during that time span (a minimum 135 games played) only Florida's Kevin Baker has a higher point per game average with a mark of 1.36.

"We are extremely excited to have Yannick join the Salmon Kings," General Manager and Head Coach Mark Morrison said. "He has proven himself to be one of the top offensive threats in this league. He is a very dynamic player and we expect him to have a large impact."

The 5'11", 185 lb Tifu played for the Florida Everblades during the 2008-09 season after being acquired from the Dayton Bombers during the offseason in a five player trade. Florida received Tifu from Dayton in exchange for four players.

In 24 games with Florida in 2008-09 he scored six goals and added 27 assists for 33 points while tallying 49 minutes in penalties. In nine Kelly Cup games this past spring he scored five points (1g-4a) and accrued four minutes in penalties.

Tifu was also promoted to the AHL during the 2008-09 season when he played in 37 games with the Albany River Rats. While in Albany he notched 18 points (3g-15a) in 37 games with 33 minutes in penalties.

The Brossard, Quebec native spent the 2007-08 season playing in 39 games with Dayton registering 57 points (15g-42) and 39 minutes in penalties. He also split time in the AHL with Albany and the Rochester Americans. Playing in nine games in Albany Tifu scored five points (2g-3a), and in 15 games for Rochester he tallied three points (1g-2a) and 15 minutes in penalties.

Tifu was also voted as a starter for American Conference All-Star team for the 2008 ECHL All-Star Game in Stockton, CA. He notched one assist during the annual event, and also won the Individual Puck Control Relay the previous night during the All-Star Skills Competition.

The 24-year-old began his ECHL career in 2006-07 with the Phoenix RoadRunners playing in 13 games and registering 12 points (2g-10a) and 20 minutes in penalties before being dealt to Dayton. Tifu continued to put points up while with the Bombers finishing the season with 77 points (26g-51a) in 65 games while accumulating 84 minutes in penalties. In the 2007 Kelly Cup Playoffs Tifu helped lead the Bombers to the Kelly Cup Final with 17 points (7g-10a) in 22 games while adding 20 minutes in penalties. He finished fourth in ECHL MVP voting for the 2006-07 season.

Tifu began his professional hockey career in the 2005-06 season with the Rockford IceHogs of the United Hockey League (UHL). In 76 games as an IceHog Tifu scored 23 goals and 49 assists for 72 points with 102 penalty minutes. The forward also participated in nine UHL playoff games tallying eight points (1g-7a) and 12 minutes in penalties.

In his four year professional career he has played in 278 games scoring 78 goals and assisting on 199 others for 277 points. He has also accrued 342 minutes in penalties. All of Tifu's games count towards his professional total by ECHL standards and he becomes the Salmon Kings fourth and final veteran (260 professional games played).

Tifu's entire junior career was spent with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the QMJHL. His most productive season came in 2003-04 where he scored 90 points (42g-48a) in 70 games with 39 minutes in penalties. Tifu finished his time in Rouyn-Noranda with 248 points (99g-149a) in 279 games with 216 minutes in penalties. He also participated in the QMJHL playoffs each of his four years as a Husky, tallying 10 goals and eight assists for 18 points in 29 games while serving 23 penalty minutes.

The Salmon Kings have now signed 10 forwards (Kaleb Betts, Curtis Billsten, Andy Brandt, Olivier Filion, Wes Goldie, Brady Leavold, David Rutherford, Dirk Southern, Yannick Tifu and Bear Trapp) and six defenseman (Mike Burgoyne, Gary Gladue, Rob Smith, Matt Waddell, Tim Wedderburn and Ryan White) for the 2009-10 season.

Season tickets for the Salmon Kings 2009-10 season are on sale. The Salmon Kings kick off their home schedule on October 21st when the Bakersfield Condors come to the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Catch all the action by calling 250-220-7889, emailing seasontickets@salmonkings.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by visiting www.salmonkings.com for more information.



ECHL Stories from September 15, 2009


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.

Other Recent Victoria Salmon Kings Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central