The Sydney Ice Dogs are proud to announce the signing of Canadian Defenceman Brandon Egli. Egli, 28, hails from Vancouver Island British Columbia and is currently playing professionally in France for Courchevel-Méribel-Pralognan where he has tallied an impressive 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) in 18 games.
“You can learn a lot about someone just by talking with them. Our initial chat with Brandon had me excited by what this guy would not just do on the ice but more so what he could offer to the dressing room off the ice. Brandon is an offensive Defenceman and will be extremely exciting to watch on our Blueline - the numbers he is putting up are the same numbers some forwards are producing only he is on the point - so this the hairs on my neck standing up in excitement” says Head Coach Jason Kvisle.
Before playing professionally, the 5’10 Defenceman played 162 games of Junior A in the BCHL for the Trail Smoke Eaters, Victoria Grizzlies and Vernon Vipers putting up an impressive 35 points (11 goals, 24 assists) in 53 games for the Grizzlies and 20 points in 45 games with the Vernon Vipers across his final two years of Junior A. His play in the BCHL earned him an offer to play for UMASS NCAA Division 1 College.
“He is a smart, smooth-skating defenseman who can play both sides of the puck and should definitely contribute to the defence corps right away” remarked Coach Micheletto at the time.
Due to timing and transfer challenges Egli opted to attend and play the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in the ACAC for a year before eventually deciding to travel abroad to New Zealand in 2018 where he played for the Dunedin Thunder where he scored 27 points in 17 games winning Best Defencemen of the NZIHL that year.
Egli earned a contract in Sweden the following year playing IK Guts in Division 3. His dominant season with 41 points (20 goals, 21 assists) in 21 games, helped the club earn promotion to Division 2 the following year, where he split time between IK Guts and Weserstars Bremen in Germany where he collected 26 points in 14 games.
“After chatting with Chiz, Scotty and Jimmy, I knew the ice dogs would be the perfect spot for myself. It sounds like they got a solid group in the locker room and eager to chase a championship. You can tell the coaching staff and management have been putting in countless hours to make the ice dogs a professional, successful and competitive program this season. The Ice Dogs have a reputation of their own and I have heard nothing but great things about the team along with the city. I’m looking forward to heading there and getting the season under way” says Egli.
Egli will join the Ice Dogs after his team in France finish their playoff run.