Estero, FL-Florida Everblades President and General Manager Craig Brush along with Head Coach Greg Poss announced today that the Florida Everblades have acquired Defenseman Mike Little and the ECHL contract rights for defenseman Tony DeHart from the Stockton Thunder, in exchange for forwards Brayden Irwin and Shawn O’Donnell.

Little, 25, has spent the past two seasons with the Stockton Thunder. During that time, Little collected 41 points (10g, 31a) during the 2011-12 season and 34 points (8g, 26a) this past season. Little was also named “Thunder Defenseman of the Year” in 2012.

Little started off his professional career with the Reading Royals for the 2010-11 season acquiring 2 points (2a), in seven games.

The Enfield, Connecticut native wrapped up four seasons of his collegiate career at AmericanInternationalCollege in 2011, acquiring a total of 32 points (5g, 27a).

“Little is an outstanding two-way defenseman. He played two years in the league on a very successful team. We are looking to him to improve our back-end.” Poss said.

DeHart, 23, had also spent the past two seasons with the Thunder. During the 2011-12 season, DeHart played in 46 games and accumulated 12 points (4g, 8a).  In the 2012-13 season tallied 30 points (5g, 25a) and was also named “Thunder Defenseman of the Year” for the 2012-13 season.

Prior to the ECHL, DeHart played for the Oshawa Generals in the OHL, acquiring a grand total of 107 points over the course of three seasons from 2008-11 (21g, 86a). While with the Generals, the defenseman made his AHL debut playing in 2 games with the Springfield Falcons.

“Dehart is another great defenseman, who also played and contributed to the Thunder, one of the better teams in the league this past season.” Poss said.

In exchange for DeHart and Little, the Thunder acquired forward Brayden Irwin, who spent the past two seasons with the Everblades and contributed 13 points (6g,7a) during the Kelly Cup playoffs in 2012. Forward Shawn O’Donnell, who made his ECHL debut last season, tallied 4 points (1g,3a) in five games with the Everblades.

The Everblades open the 2013-14 season at Germain Arena on Friday, October 18 against the Orlando Solar Bears.  Individual game tickets go on sale on September 7.

2013-14 Season Ticket Package InformationTicket packages for the 2013-14 season are currently on sale!  Full season packages begin at $380, while 10 and 20 game packages start as low as $160. Sign-up for a new season ticket package today, and receive a $20 gift card per seat to Outback Steakhouse!

For more information call 239-948-7825, or stop by the Everblades main office located at Germain Arena.

Office hours are Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The Everblades are the proud ECHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes

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