By Mike Bonts
JACKSONVILLE – The cellar dwelling Jacksonville Icemen traded forwards Christopher Brown and Garrett Van Wyhe to the Toledo Walleye today in exchange for the four players and another to be named later.
Brown heads for his new opportunity in Toledo after being a staple member of the Icemen organization for the past six seasons. The veteran forward captained the Icemen for the past five years and leads the Icemen All-Time in every offensive stats category including points (244), goals (101), assists (143), and games played (335) from 2020-2026.
Van Wyhe will join Brown in Toledo after nearly three years with the Icemen from 2023-2026. Van Wyhe totaled 83 points with a balanced 39 goals and 44 assists in 156 games played. Van Wyhe also registered several key overtime winning goals during his time in Jacksonville.
The move comes as the Icemen sit in last place in the ECHL South Division, 13 points out of fourth place behind Savannah. There is a lot of hockey to be played, but Jacksonville needs to make their move soon, as the season ends mid-April. The Icemen dopped two close road games over the weekend to the Florida Everblades.
On Saturday, Florida completed their season long five-game homestand with a 2-1 victory over the Jacksonville in front of a sellout crowd at Hertz Arena. Gianfranco Cassaro opened the scoring for the hosts 6:00 into the opening frame blasting home a one-time feed from Jordan Sambrook to give Florida the early 1-0 lead. Both sides traded goals in the middle stanza as Connor Doherty stretched the Blades lead to two on his third of the season at the 6:17 mark beating Michael Bullion five-hole finishing off chance in transition. Jacksonville responded 3:14 later on the 13th of the season from Adam McMaster burying a feed from Logan Cockerill narrowly over the glove side of Johnson.
Friday in Estero Florida captain Oliver Chau sealed the overtime comeback as Florida erased a late 2–0 third-period deficit against the Icemen, forcing extra time before securing a 3–2 OT victory. The visitors struck first at 7:07 of the second period after Brayden Hislop delivered a one-timer that resulted in an unfortunate bounce off Johnson to take the lead. Taos Jordan registering an assist on the play.The Icemen doubled down just under two minutes later when a turnover in front of the crease gave Jacksonville’s Dalton Duhart the time and space to set up David Jankowski for a tap-in that would see over Cam Johnson’s glove and into the back of the net. The Blades entered the final period in a 2-0 deficit, still managing to outshoot the Icemen 28-13.
Florida’s Logan Lambdin wired a one-timer top left blocker side past Scott Ratzlaff put Florida on the board. With only 45 seconds remaining in regulation and an empty net, Jesse Lansdell buried a loose puck through traffic in the crease to knot the score and send the game to overtime. After a lifeline save by Johnson, Craig Needham exploded up ice on a breakaway, carrying the puck through the neutral zone before slipping a backhand pass across to Chau, setting up the overtime win.
In the five-for-two trade, the Icemen will receive five players to reload the team’s roster for the remainder of this season and for the future.
Jed Pietia, defenseman; Will Hillman, forward; Colby Ambrosio, forward; Jacques Bouquot, forward and a fifth player as part of a future consideration in this deal.
Pietila, 27, joins the Icemen after playing the past two seasons and part of a third with Toledo, collecting 22 points (5g, 14a) and +8 rating. The 5-11, 190-pound defenseman will boost the Icemen’s blue line. Prior to his time in Toledo, the Howell, Michigan resident played two seasons at Michigan Tech, logging 30 points in 75 collegiate games from 2022-2024.
Hillman, 25, is a rookie who has collected 17 points (8g, 9a) in 45 games played with the Walleye this season. The 6-2, 203-pound forward adds some size and skill to the Icemen’s forward unit. Hillman also appeared in ten postseason games with Toledo last spring. The Blaine, Minnesota resident played four collegiate seasons at Minnesota State University – Mankato from 2021-2025.
Ambrosio, 23, heads to Jacksonville having recorded 16 points (10g, 6a) in 44 appearances with Toledo This season. The 5-9 177-pound center is currently in his rookie season as well and made a big impression with the Walleye out of college last spring when he posted eight points (3g, 5a) in 12 games. Prior to his time with the Walleye, Ambrosio played one collegiate season at Miami University (Ohio) and four seasons at Boston College. He totaled 86 points during his college career from 2020-2025. A resident of Welland, Ontario, Ambrosio, was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the fourth-round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
Bouquot, 25, comes to the Icemen having registered ten points (2g, 8a) in 29 outings with the Walleye this season. Last season, the 6-2, 190-pound center also appeared in 27 games with the Reading Royals during the previous two seasons adding 12 points in those contests. Prior to his pro career, Bouquot had a productive final collegiate season at Penn State University where he totaled 27 points (12g, 15a) in just 34 games. Prior to Penn State, the South Windsor, Connecticut resident compiled 50 points in four seasons at the University of Vermont from 2019-2024.
The Icemen are back in action on Friday night at Atlanta. The team will return home on Saturday (February 28) against South Carolina at 7 p.m.
