River Dragons Ink Olivieri For 2019-20

Columbus, GA - The Columbus River Dragons are proud to announce that defenseman Don Olivieri has signed for the 2019-20 FPHL season.

Olivieri is a Philadelphia native who comes with four years of professional experience bouncing between the FPHL, SPHL and ECHL in those years. Last season he played 50 games in the ECHL splitting time between Atlanta and Norfolk before finishing the season with Pensacola in the SPHL playoffs. In 61 games played last season he averaged nearly a half point per game (13G-18A-31P) with more than half of those coming with the Norfolk Admirals.

"I'm excited to be part of this organization" Olivieri said. "Knowing the coaching staff here and what the players can do, I think we have what it takes to bring a cup to Columbus."

Olivieri debuted as a professional in the Federal league with the now-defunct Berlin River Drivers back in 2015. In all four of his professional seasons he has scored at least 10 goals each year across his different teams and leagues. 

Prior to that Olivieri played at the NCAA DIII level with Nazareth College and Utica College as well as the NAHL's Texas Tornado and Bismarck Bobcats.

"I'm really happy to get Don here" associate coach Jerome Bechard said. "He's a high skill d-man and having guys with his level of experience at a higher level will be great for some of the younger guys. He can really help show them the way."

The River Dragons season kicks off on the road October 25th when they take on another expansion team, the Delaware Thunder.

---River Dragons---

HOCKEY RETURNS to the Columbus Civic Center on Friday, November 1st at 7:35 p.m. when your River Dragons take on the Elmira Enforcers to open the home portion of their inaugural FPHL schedule. The River Dragons have also scheduled two neutral site games in Athens, GA this summer. Visit www.rdragons.com for season ticket information and everything you need to know about the Columbus River Dragons.