River Dragons Make 3 Roster Moves in Advance of Carolina Weekend
Columbus, GA - The Columbus River Dragons have made a series of roster moves this week leading up to a home-and-home series against the Carolina Thunderbirds.
On Wednesday, the River Dragons traded Jimmy Philbin to the Battle Creek Rumble Bees for financial considerations. Additionally, the River Dragons waived Connor Vermuelen and David Powlowski from the active roster.
In the spaces left the River Dragons signed three players. Forwards Brant Sherwood and Mike Chemello and defenseman Nick Wright have been added to the active roster.
Sherwood is a San Anselmo, CA native who is in his fifth year of pro hockey. Earlier this season Sherwood played for the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs and tallied six points in six games played. His previous experience in the FPHL dates back to 2015-16 when he appeared in 33 games for the now-defunct Berlin River Drivers. Sherwood played his college hockey at SUNY-Cortland and Plymouth State at the NCAA-DIII level.
Chemello hails from Toronto, ON and is in his second year as a pro. Last season Chemello split time between the Macon Mayhem (SPHL) and Elmira Enforcers (FPHL). He appeared in a combined 39 games last season and was a point-per-game player for Elmira in 10 games played there (5G-5A). Chemello played college hockey at Florida Gulf Coast (ACHA) and won the 2015-16 D2 national title with the Eagles.
Wright is from New Boston, MI and is in the middle of year five as a professional. Wright appeared in one game in the ECHL this season with the Jacksonville Icemen. He has previous FPHL experience with Berlin between 2015-17 and in the 2017-18 season with Port Huron. Wright was a WSHL champion with El Paso in 2013-14 and has a reputation as a hard hitting d-man. His previous accolades include being the FPHL's most penalized player in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
Due to the personnel change numbers have been shifted around. Sherwood will wear #21, Chemello will wear #6, and Wright will wear #4. Wyatt Trumbley who previously wore four will now wear #15.
Columbus gets ready for their first contests with the defending Commissioner's Cup champs tonight with a 7:35 puck drop at the Columbus Civic Center. Tickets are available at the Columbus Civic Center box office or on TicketMaster.