Athlete Spotlight

’99/Leipaja, Latvia.

In his second year of North American Junior, Grekovs moved from the Midwest to Daytona where he was a leader on the blue line for the Swamp Rabbits, contributing 11 goals and 37 assists in 42 games. The defenseman contributed five power play goals and three of his 11 markers stood up as game winners. He also scored on his only shootout attempt. Grekovs had a career year playing for DME. GM/Head Coach Frank Gilberti said about Grekovs “Greek is big, strong, skilled, smart and he can skate. He can lead the offensive attack and quarterback a powerplay and he can also be a top pairing defenseman used to penalty kill a 5v3 situation. Ilja scored some big goals for us this season and he played in all situations. Greek was a big part of our success this season and he currently has many NCAA offers.”

Read More

’99/Skelleftea, Sweden

Nilsson was the backstop on an offensively powerful team. He made sure the leads stood up, making his North American debut a great one with 13 wins in 16 regular season starts with one of his losses coming in overtime. He posted a 2.00 Goals Against Average and .947 Save Percentage with three shutouts. GM/Head Coach Frank Gilberti said about Nilsson “He conducts himself like a professional. His work ethic, preparation, focus and intensity is second to none. Sebby is a quiet leader and he lets his preparation and performance talk for him. Sebastian personifies all of the qualities that you want in a goalie; cool, calm, collected, confident, prepared, level headed, skilled and hard working. His teammates love him and our coaching staff always felt most confident when Sebby was in the cage. Sebastian currently has numerous NCAA offers.”

Read More

’98/St. Petersburg, Russia

Avdioukhin got off to a quick start this season and settled in for a 22-goal and 34-assist campaign. Avdioukhin collected five game winners and scored eight times on the powerplay to lead the Swamp Rabbits’ offense. GM/Head Coach Frank Gilberti said about Avdioukhin “Daniil’s an offensively gifted player but it was his commitment away from the puck and his commitment to the details that was most impressive. Daniil didn’t come to DME to learn how to score, he already had that element in his game. Daniil came here to round out his game and to become a complete 200ft player. Daniil played through a serious knee injury for the final 3/4 of the season. He played through injury and it speaks volumes about his character.”

’99/Norway House, Manitoba

Drew scored the two goals needed for the Swamp Rabbits to defeat Florida Division rival the Florida Eels and reclaim a share of the division’s top spot with the Eels. This included the game-winning goal with 22 seconds remaining. Tait-Rheaume joined the Swamp Rabbits in November and has scored six of his seven points on the season in his five January games so far. “Drew converted from defense to forward and made an immediate impact. Around here we call him The Beast because that’s exactly what he is. Big, strong, physical, smart and skilled. Drew added another dimension to our lineup that was much needed. He goes to the net like a man and is nearly impossible to move from the front of the net or off of pucks given his size and strength.”