Beast acquire AHL veteran and Kelly Cup Champion Justin Courtnall
BRAMPTON, ONTARIO – The Brampton Beast, ECHL affiliate of the St. John’s IceCaps and Montreal Canadiens, announce today that the club has acquired 2016 Kelly Cup Champion Justin Courtnall from the Allen Americans. This will complete the trade from March 10, 2015 that saw the Beast send Chris Auger to the Americans for Future Considerations.
Courtnall, a powerful 6’3” left winger and will be bringing strong hockey bloodlines to Brampton. He the son of former NHLer and Stanley Cup champion Geoff Courtnall and is the nephew of NHL seventh overall draft pick in 1983 Russ Courtnall.
Justin is an AHL veteran who has played 123 career American Hockey League contests between the 2012-13 and 2014-15 seasons with the Providence Bruins, Hamilton Bulldogs, Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and the Syracuse Crunch.
The 27-year-old Courtnall is considered to be a strong defensive forward who plays with energy at both ends of the ice. He suited up for 60 games last season for the Allen Americans and recorded seven goals, 12 assists and 90 penalty minutes. He also played in 12 playoff contests this season with the Americans and helped the club win its second consecutive Kelly Cup title.
Prior to turning pro, the Victoria, British Columbia native spent three seasons in the NCAA from 2009-10 to 2011-12, where he played with Boston University, recording seven goals and six assists in 92 games played.
Beast Head Coach Colin Chaulk is excited at the idea of seeing Courtnall wearing a Beast jersey and to add Courtnall’s size and AHL experience into the Beast lineup.
“Justin played 62 games with Hamilton in the American Hockey League a few years back and has played over 100 American Hockey League Games in his career,” Chaulk said. “To be able to acquire someone of his size and experience definitely is something we need. With a lot of small forwards we had last season, he is someone that we’re going to do everything we can to sign and get into a Beast uniform come October.”
While Courtnall admits it will be tough to leave a championship team like the Allen Americans, he’s excited to come back to Canada and play for the Beast.
“To have the Montreal Canadiens as your parent team, it’s such a great organization there,” Courtnall said. “I played for the Hamilton Bulldogs a couple of years ago and had a really great experience there. It’s a lot different for me because I’ve been playing in the U.S. for a few years now but I’m looking forward to being back in the homeland and playing for the Beast.”