The Adirondack Thunder made their second new signing of the offseason on Wednesday, adding 26-year-old defensemen Steven Ruggiero for the upcoming season.
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The Kings Park, New York native will be entering his second year in the ECHL after spending last year with the Tulsa Oilers as he was on an AHL contract with the San Diego Gulls. However, during that time, he only appeared in one game while up with the Gulls. In 57 ECHL games, Ruggiero racked up five goals and four assists for a total of nine points.
Ruggiero spent a year in the US National Development program before being selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He would then spend time with Providence College and Lake Superior State University. Combined between the two, Ruggiero put up six goals and eight assists for 14 points. He managed to put up these numbers through a total of 70 games.
He’s a bigger body with a left-handed shot at 6’3 and 220lbs, and as Head Coach Alex Loh stated in the release, he was brought in to deal with the loss of Micheal Sdao and Kelly Summers. Ruggiero won’t add scoring on the blue-line, but with Charlie Curti coming back, that won’t be an issue for the Adirondack Thunder.