Helenius and Henry Move up to AHL Syracuse

Estero, FL – The Florida Everblades announced Wednesday a pair of players are on their way to the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League as the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning have assigned goalie Riku Helenius to the Crunch while Syracuse has signed defenseman Jordan Henry to an AHL contract.

Former first round NHL Draft pick Helenius, 25, was reassigned after an injury to Ben Bishop with the Lightning caused the Bolts to call up Crunch starter Cedrick Desjardins.

A native of Palkane, Finland, Helenius appeared in just one contest for the Blades before heading back to Syracuse.

Henry, 27, is an assistant captain for the Blades. The veteran blueliner has contributed two goals and 10 assists in 15 appearances with Florida.

Hailing from Milo, Alberta, Henry also played in two games for the Crunch while on loan to the AHL club in November.

The two transactions give the Blades 15 players total that have moved up to the AHL and 18 total call-ups, loans and AHL contracts signed.

On the ice, the Everblades return to Southwest Florida Friday to open a four-game homestand with a 7:30pm showdown with the first-place South Carolina Stingrays at Germain Arena.

Tickets are on sale right now at the Capital Bank Box Office, open Monday-Friday, 10:00am until 6:00pm.

Friday’s top-two South Division clash will be broadcast live online at FloridaEverblades.com and on the Everblades’ app for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, with a video webcast available through America ONE, the official broadband and mobile broadcaster of the ECHL, at www.americaonesports.com. Pregame coverage will get under way at 7:15pm.

Beat the Box Office!

Don’t want to pay the box office rate for Everblades tickets? You don’t have to! Save up to $7.00 per ticket with great 10 and 20-game flex plans and group rates for the remainder of the 2013-14 campaign. Lock in your flex plan or group seats now for the Blades’ next home game on January 10.

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 Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning.

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