The defending NAHL Robertson Cup Champion Shreveport Mudbugs have not had much time to celebrate their second championship in three seasons. The busy offseason for the 2021-22 season began before the cup was achieved with the NAHL Supplemental Draft held on June 2. The Mudbugs like every other team received three picks.
Right-wing Emmet Pierce of the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League was the first choice for the Mudbugs. Pierce didn’t play last season but had 21 points (6 goals, 15 assists) in the 2019-2020 season in 55 games. Pierce also finished fifth for the Firebirds in the +/- stat with 12.
The Mudbugs’ top goalie Cole Hudson aged out last year and received a commitment to the University of Vermont of Hockey East League. They picked up a little help with their second pick of Simon Bucheler from St. Laurent, Quebec. Bucheler last played in 2019-20 for the New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs in the National Collegiate Developmental Conference. Bucheler finished with a 7-2-3 record and GAA (Goals Against Average) of 2.73. He was to play for the Carelton Place Canadians in the Central Canadian Hockey League in 2020-21 but the season was canceled.
The final pick in the supplemental draft for the Mudbugs was forward Patrick Roginski. Roginski competed with the Florida Jr. Blades in the USPHL for the 2020-21 season. Roginski towered over his fellow teammates with his 6 feet 5-inch frame as the largest player on the team. Roginski was a big target as he was third on the team in penalty minutes, but also contributed 10 goals and 15 assists.
The Mudbugs also had to fill some big holes as they lost 11 players due to age requirements in the NAHL. Shreveport lost four of their top five goal scorers in Joseph Mack, Braiden Dorfman, Giovanni Procopio, and Matt Weber. The Mudbugs went to find some help in the Entry Draft on July 14.
The Mudbugs selected nine players in the Entry Draft. The first pick was familiar to the Mudbugs as Brandon Cimino played against them in 2019-20 with the Corpus Christi Ice Rays. Cimino played last season in the NCDC (National Collegiate Developmental Conference) for the Jersey Hitmen and winning the Dineen Cup Championship. Cimino was third on the team in assists with 31.
Shreveport claimed one of their own in the second pick with Logan “Goat Boy” Gotinkski.
The third pick for the Mudbugs, Jonah Copre, could be making his Southern hockey debut from the midwest after a stint at the USHL Waterloo Black Hawks in Iowa.
Ryan Williams saw his opportunity to play again after his 2020-21 season was cut short in the British Columbia Hockey League with the Coquitlam Express. The Lakeville, MN native will get his shot with the Mudbugs.
The fifth pick for the Mudbugs has seen his career bounced between Quebec (QMJHL) and New Brunswick (MJAHL), Canada the past couple of years. Gavin Watt has swapped between the Miramichi Timberwolves (MJAHL) and the Moncton Wildcats.
With their sixth and seventh pick, Shreveport decided to bring the Perrot brothers to Louisiana. The two may finally get a chance to play on the same team for the first time in junior hockey careers. The elder Perrot, Andrew, traveled to Slovakia on loan and played for HK Martin for 23 games and accumulating four goals and six assists. Kevin Perrott was scheduled to play for the St. Mary’s Lincolns in 2020 in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. The duo can’t help but genetically have rink ice in their veins as their father, Nathan Perrott, had stints in the NHL with the Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, and Toronto Maple Leafs from 2001-2006.
Wynack, New York native, William Fortescue, is used to winning rings where he plays. The last two teams that he was with each won their respective league cups. Shreveport Mudbugs hopes that championship spirit can carry forward to a third Robertson Cup.
Finally, the Mudbugs selected Teddy Marion with their ninth pick of the entry draft. Marion is a product of the NAHL developmental league, NA3HL, where he skated for the Milwaukee Power. Shreveport is going to be a little far from his playing days in Milwaukee as the Franklin, Wisconsin native will be leaving that area to play for the first time. The forward southpaw shooting player scored 10 goals and collected 12 assists.
All the draft picks will still have to make the cut through the training camp that began on August 6. So far Coach Jason “Soupy” Campbell is pleased with the results. “Training camp is like Christmas for the coaching staff,” Campbell said. “The presents come to town. You finally get to see them and they kind of unwrap themselves. We also get to see how they interact with the coaches and the boys. We get to see how their practice habits are like and how they play the game. It’s been a great week so far and we trim it down on Saturday. We’ve had some tough, tough decisions. We’ve had a lot of good hockey players and a lot of good kids. It takes that to play in our league and that’s a tough part of the coaching decisions. We’re happy where we’re at right now, but we’ve got a long way to go. The returners have to remember the things ”
The Mudbugs will have to widdle down their roster to 25 by September 1.
The season is a little under a month away as the NAHL season kicks off with the NAHL Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota. The Mudbugs will play four games opening on September 15 against Minnesota Magicians. The next day will be a rematch of the Robertson Cup final against Aberdeen Wings playing on the same ice the Mudbugs won the championship just short of three months earlier. On September 17, Shreveport will take on Eastern Division Janesville Jets. September 18 will find the Mudbugs catching some heat for a second time against a Minnesota team when they close out the NAHL showcase against the St. Cloud Norsemen.
Shreveport will get their first taste of home ice on September 24 & 25 where they will face the USA National Hockey Team. The Mudbugs alumni game will follow on September 26. The first taste of NAHL home action will be on October 1 against the Odessa Jackalopes
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