ESTERO, Fla. — Florida Everblades defenseman Justin Wade and forward Cliff Pu have been recalled to the American Hockey League’s Cleveland Monsters and Charlotte Checkers, respectively, Everblades head coach Brad Ralph announced on Friday.
Since being sent to the ‘Blades in early December, Wade has logged 25 games with the team, putting up three assists and a +7 plus-minus rating. In his eight games in the AHL with the Monsters, Wade has an assist and a plus-minus rating of -4.
Prior to turning professional, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound physical defenseman played four seasons of NCAA Division I college hockey with the University of Notre Dame. In 117 games with the Fighting Irish, Wade recorded two goals and 15 assists, along with 114 penalty minutes.
Returning to Charlotte after five games with the ‘Blades, Pu seems to have found the offensive prowess that got him drafted in the third round, 69th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2016 NHL Draft. A key piece in the trade that sent Jeff Skinner from the Hurricanes to the Sabres in the offseason, Pu notched two goals and three assists in his brief stint with the Blades, including his first professional multi-point game. Pu registered a goal and two assists in just his second game with Florida on Feb. 13 in a 5-2 win over the Orlando Solar Bears.
Prior to being assigned to Florida, Pu, 20, had spent the beginning of the year with Charlotte, playing in 42 games and picking up a goal and five assists.
Before going pro, Pu played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with three teams, the Oshawa Generals, London Knights and Kingston Frontenacs, where he played with Everblades goaltender Jeremy Helvig for part of last season. In 232 games in the OHL, Pu posted 80 goals and 130 assists.
Florida continues a three-game week with the series opener against the South Carolina Stingrays on Friday night at North Charleston Coliseum. The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. ET.
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