On Friday June 10th, the Brampton Beast announced the signing of Canadian defensemen Derek Topatigh.
With their second defensemen for 2020/21 announced, the Mississauga, ON native has played his last few seasons with the Princeton Tigers in the NCAA. He spent four years in New Jersey and during his postsecondary career, he has earned an ECHA Championship and the captaincy in his last season. Throughout his school tenure overall, Topatigh recorded 43 points with 15 goals and 28 assists.
The new signing has been described as a smart defensemen that has a strong shot to create plays in the attacking end. His captaincy last year with the Tigers also shows his past leadership on the team. Although, it wasn’t his first-time being captain as he was captain of the Orangeville Flyers in the OJHL in the final year before college.
The Beast are now up to two defensemen and one forward through offseason signings. The rookie will see his first-season team build around him as more signings will be announced as part of a long summer before next season begins.