On Wednesday August 26th, the Toledo Walleye announced the signing of American forward Brandon Hawkins. After the Walleye unveiled a ton of defence to get the offseason going, the Walleye are starting to find the scoring they need for the upcoming year.
From nearby Macomb Township, Michigan, Hawkins played alongside forward Tyler Speiza when the two were younger at Bowling Green University. At Bowling Green (right down the road from Toledo), Hawkins put 58 points in 80 games played with the Falcons men’s hockey program. He did so over two years spanned.
He then transferred to Northeastern University, putting up 61 points in 50 games played. He spanned another years with the Huskies. Even in lower levels in the USHL with the Sioux City Musketeers, Hawkins put up 48 points in just one season through 54 games. A grinder who’s proved himself on many levels.
In his first year of pro last season, Hawkins put up 33 points in 47 games with the Wheeling Nailers. Even though he was very limited, Hawkins received a call-up to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. There, he saw ice time in 11 games.
With Toledo losing ECHL MVP and scoring right-winger Josh Kestner to Finland, the Walleye are in need of forwards. While obviously not on the same level of recently signed forwards like Kyle Bonis or Shane Berschbach, Hawkins, on paper, works with Toledo on the secondary level. Hawkins could be line-mates with Tyler Speiza which would allow for something to blossom.
Along with losing Kestner, Toledo lost scorers in Josh Winquist and rookie Abbout Girduckis over the summer. Signing forward Brandon Hawkins is the right direction to filling those holes.