Brampton Beast Media Release

BRAMPTON, ONTARIO – The Brampton Beast, ECHL affiliate of the St. John’s IceCaps and Montreal Canadiens, announce today several transactions ahead of the team’s six-game road trip, which kicks off on Thursday, March 17 against the Kalamazoo Wings.

The American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat have reassigned defenseman Mike Vernace to the Brampton Beast.

Vernace, 29, suited up for five games with the Heat and recorded two penalty minutes. With the Beast this season, Vernace emerged as one of the ECHL’s top defensemen. In 43 games played with the Beast this season, the Toronto, Ontario native recorded four goals and 24 assists with a team-leading 85 penalty minutes.

Even though Vernace missed the last 11 Beast games during his callup, he remains one of the league’s top scoring defensemen. His 28 points places him in the top-20 in ECHL defenseman scoring.

In a separate transaction, the Beast have also signed Mike’s brother, Daniel Vernace, to a Standard Player Contract.

The 24-year-old right-winger spent the last four seasons in the NCAA playing for Lake Superior State University. The versatile forward recorded five goals and two assists to go along with 12 penalty minutes in 43 NCAA contests between the 2012-13 and 2015-16 seasons.

In a separate transaction, the Beast have released forward Jonathan Parker from his Standard Player Contract. He appeared in 10 games with the Beast and recorded one goal and one assist.