The Orlando Solar Bears did some early Black Friday shopping on Monday, agreeing to terms on a standard player contract with Aaron Luchuk for the upcoming season.
Luchuk joins the Solar Bears hockey club after spending last season with the Newfoundland Growlers. With Newfoundland, he tallied 50 points, recording 19 goals along with 31 assists. He did so in just 45 games while also adding on 14 penalty minutes.
From there, the native of Kingston bounced around a bit. He was promised to the AHL, where he appeared in three games with the Toronto Marlies. On February 20th, he was traded to Ottawa where he played in one game with both Belleville and Brampton.
Finally, on February 24th, Luchuk was traded to the Montreal Canadiens. Before the year was suddenly cancelled, he would play in two games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket. Throughout Luchuk’s ECHL career, the forward’s tallied 72 points, scoring 29 goals along with 43 assist.
Doing so in 78 games, he’s also added on 20 penalty minutes. In the AHL, between Toronto, Belleville and Laval, Luchuk’s played in 33 games, racking up nine points on five assists and four goals.
Prior to making the jump pro, Luchuk played major junior with the Windsor Spitfires and Barrie Colts. In the OHL, he produced nearly a point per game, scoring 115 goals along with 136 assists. While that made for 251 points, he tallied 51 penalty minutes in 274 games.
With the Spitfires, in 2016-17, Luchuk was apart of their Memorial Cup Championship. The following season, he was the league’s leading scorer, amassing a total of 115 points. He also earned OHL Second All-Star Team honours and was named recipient of the Leo Lalonde Memorial Trophy.
This signing by Orlando seems to solves the Trevor Olson problem the Solar Bears were facing. Olson, who re-signed in September, decided to hang up the skates and announce his retirement. He did so on October 5th. In 110 games with Orlando, Olson racked up a total of 74 points.
While Luchuk may not wear the “A” as he joins Orlando, the Solar Bears have gotten a younger, higher scoring forward to replace the talented right-winger. Orlando has certainly gotten their holiday shopping off on a positive note with the addition of Aaron Luchuk.