St. Jacques Added To Thunder Offensive Front

Published on October 3, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
Stockton Thunder News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Thunder, the ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers and American Hockey League's Springfield Falcons, has agreed to terms with free-agent center Chris St. Jacques, Thunder head coach Chris Cichocki announced today. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Chris is an energetic player who will add skill and grit to our lineup," said Cichocki. "I expect him to rebound from last season's offensive output and perform with consistency for the Thunder. I'm confident his strong work ethic and 'never-say-die' attitude will help him quickly become a fan favorite."

St. Jacques, 24, originally signed an entry-level contract with the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs in June 2004 and has appeared in 192 career games with AHL's Toronto Marlies, St. John's Maple Leafs and ECHL's Pensacola Ice Pilots and Columbia Inferno as an assigned NHL prospect, scoring a combined 99 points (35g-64a) and tallying 217 penalty minutes in three seasons (2004-07).

The Edmonton, Alberta native led the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League in scoring for the final two seasons of his five-year (1999-03) junior hockey career, tallying a combined 368 points (152g-216a) in 310 career games and registering 357 penalty minutes. St. Jacques led Medicine Hat with a career-high 96 points (31g-65a) and 65 assists in 2002-03, tying for fourth in WHL scoring while guiding the Tigers to the WHL championship in 2003-04 with a team-leading 27 points (12g-15a) in 20 postseason games.

At the 2004 Memorial Cup Championship, St. Jacques recorded four points (3g-1a) in four games as the Tigers advanced to the tournament semifinal.

The 5-foot-8, 181-pound center split 68 games last year between AHL's Marlies and ECHL's Inferno, registering 21 points (6g-15a) with 84 penalty minutes. St. Jacques scored 47 points (18g-29a) in 66 games with 74 penalty minutes as a rookie with Pensacola in 2004-05, helping guide the Ice Pilots to a 2004-05 ECHL Brabham Cup title with a league-best 107 points (51-16-5 record).

"My expectations are to come with a good attitude and be willing to work hard this year for the Thunder," said St. Jacques. "I acknowledge that I didn't have a good year last year but I'm prepared to put up big numbers for this team. Chris Cichocki increased my interest in coming to Stockton after he aggressively pursued me all summer long and explained I could be expecting quality minutes on the ice."

Chris is the cousin of longtime pro veteran Kevin St. Jacques, who spent the last three seasons with the Pacific Division rival Bakersfield Condors and elaborated on Kevin's recommendation of coming to Stockton:

"Talking to Kevin, he said it's a great place to play," said St. Jacques. "He explained that in warm-ups you're already approached by 4,000 fans. The last time I saw a crowd that big was in junior hockey. It makes me excited to play in front of that big of a crowd and get the season going."

St. Jacques is re-united on the Thunder roster with recent free-agent signee and 2006 ECHL All-Star Luke Fulghum, who were teammates in Pensacola and Columbia.

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