Stokes, Beckett & Krestanovich Assigned From AHL's Houston

October 4, 2004 - ECHL (ECHL)
Pensacola Ice Pilots News Release


Pensacola, FL - The Pensacola Ice Pilots, under the ownership group of Hockey Enterprises of Pensacola L.L.C. with owner Tim Kerr, announced that defenseman Ryan Stokes, left wing Jordan Krestanovich and right wing Jason Beckett have been assigned to the Ice Pilots by the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League and forward George Cantrall and goalie Terry Denike (pronounced DAH-NIKE like Ike) have signed try-out agreements with the Ice Pilots for the 2004-2005 season.

Stokes, who stands 6'4" and weighs 220 pounds, played in 66 regular season games last season with Mississauga of the Ontario Hockey League scoring 4 goals, 20 assists for 24 points and picked up 179 penalty minutes and played in 24 playoff games scoring 2 goals, 9 assists for 11 points picking up 74 penalty minutes.

Stokes finished second in voting last season as the OHL's best defenseman helping Mississauga reach the OHL Championship Playoff Series. He also played in 46 games for Mississauga during the 2002-2003 season scoring one goal, 6 assists for 7 points and picked up 113 penalty minutes.

Stokes played for Barrie of the OHL for two seasons from 2001-2003 playing in 66 games scoring 1 goal, 6 assists for 7 points and picked up 46 penalty minutes. He signed a free agent contract with the Minnesota Wild of the NHL on May 25, 2004 and is 21 years old from Corruna, Ontario and shoots left.

"According to my scouting reports in the OHL, Ryan is one of the toughest kids coming out of that league. He is a good two-way defenseman with great size and can handle the puck. He is young with enthusiasm and will bring a lot of energy to our team," said Ice Pilots Head Coach Dave Farrish.

Beckett, who stands 6'3" and weighs 225 pounds, played in 72 games for Houston of the AHL last year scoring 4 goals, 7 assists for 11 points and pi cked up 168 penalty minutes. He has also played for Milwaukee and Philadelphia of the AHL and Trenton of the ECHL.

Beckett, who played junior hockey for Seattle in the WHL, signed a free agent contract with Minnesota of the NHL on July 3, 2004. He was selected in the second round and was the 42nd overall player taken in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. Beckett is 24 years old from Lethbridge, Alberta and shoots rights.

"Jason is a player that has a lot of AHL experience and has a physical presence on the ice. He is a flexible type of player that can play either forward or defense and has great leadership qualities," said Ice Pilots Head Coach Dave Farrish.

Krestanovich, who stands 6'1" and weighs 190 pounds, played in 14 games last season with the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL picking up 6 penalty minutes. He also played in 38 games with Hershey of the AHL last year scoring 4 goals, 15 assists for 19 points picking 11 penalty minutes and played in 12 games for Houston of the AHL scoring 2 goals, 1 assist for 3 points.

Krestanovich also played in 8 games for the Colorado Avalanche during the 2001-2002 season picking up 2 assists and played in 68 games for Hershey scoring 12 goals, 22 assists for 34 points and picked up 18 penalty minutes. He played in 70 games for Hershey during the 2002-2003 season scoring 13 goals, 21 assists for 34 points and picked up 24 penalty minutes.

Krestanovich, who played his junior hockey at Calgary of the WHL, was selected by Colorado in the 5th round and was the 152nd player taken overall in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He was traded to the NHL's Minnesota Wild on March 9, 2004. Krestanovich is 23 years old from Langley, British Columbia and shoots left.

"Jordan has NHL speed and is a very explosive player. He will be one of the fastest skaters in the league as he will add a lot to our team speed. The "caliber of player" with the addition of Jordan to our roster will definitely be upgraded," said Farrish.

Cantrall, who stands 6'3" and weighs 230 pounds, played in 59 games last season with the Missouri River Otters of the United Hockey League scoring 3 goals, 1 assist for 4 points and picked up 321 penalty minutes. He also played in 23 games for Missouri during the 2000-2001 season scoring 2 goals, 2 assists for 4 points and picked up 56 penalty minutes.

Cantrall played junior hockey for Acadie-Bathurst of the QMJHL and has also played for the St. Louis Sting of the NAHL. He is 23 years old from Springfield, Illinois and shoots right.

Denike, who stands 6'2" and weighs 190 pounds, played in six games last season with Fresno of the ECHL posting a record of 2-4 with a 2.98 goals against average and .908 save percentage, played in 5 games with Reading of the ECHL posting a record of 1-1-1 with a 3.49 goals against average and .899 save percentage and played in 2 games with Wichita of the CHL posting a record of 1-1 with a 2.42 goals against average and .905 save percentage.

Denike, who played his college hockey at Lake Superior State University, was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the 5th round and 152nd overall player taken in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He is 23 years old from Burlington, Ontario and catches left.

"Cantrall is one of the heavy weights as it shows on his stats from the United Hockey League last season and brings a lot of toughness. Denike will help us in training camp with depth in goaltending as he played in the ECHL last season," said Ice Pilots Head Coach Dave Farrish.

The Ice Pilots are currently looking for housing for players during training camp which begins this weekend and for the regular season. The Ice Pilots regular housing is not available because of Hurricane Ivan. If anybody can help out with player housing, please call the Ice Pilots at 432-7825.

Individual game tickets for the Ice Pilots two home preseason games are now on sale. The Ice Pilots will play the Gwinnett Gladiators at the Pensacola Civic Center on Friday, October 15 and Saturday, October 16. Face-o ff for both games begin at 7:05 p.m.

Cost of individual game tickets for the two preseason games are $10 for all lower level seats and $5 for all upper level seats.

Individual game tickets for all 36 home games during the regular season will go on sale Friday, October 15 at 10:00 a.m. Cost for individual game tickets during the regular season are $22 for floor and glass, $15 for sides, $13 for behind the goal and lower upper level and $10 for upper level seats.

Fans can purchase individual game tickets for all 36 home games and the two preseason games in person at the Civic Center box office, at any Ticketmaster location, Charge by Phone at 850-434-7444 or through the Ice Pilots website at www.icepilots.com.

The Ice Pilots under new Head Coach Dave Farrish will begin the 2004-2005 regular season at Mississippi on October 23 and play their home opener Saturday, October 30 vs. the Kelly Cup Finalists Florida Everblades at 7:05 p.m.

Season tickets for all 36 home games for floor and glass seats are $649.44, side seats are $459.00, goal seats and lower upper seats are $411.84 and upper seats cost $324.00 16 game plans, 8 game plans and flex packs also are available. Fans can call the Ice Pilots office at 432-7825 for season ticket and corporate sponsorship information.

For career statistics on all players, visit The Team page on icepilots.com.



ECHL Stories from October 4, 2004


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