Walleye trade MacMillan, Suda
3/10/2010The Walleye yesterday traded forward Malcolm MacMillan, the first player signed in franchise history.
An ECHL veteran, MacMillan had played the second most games of any Walleye player this season, competing in 56 contests. But MacMillan scored just four goals while collecting 28 assists.
MacMillan, who turned 28 last month, had racked up a team-high 153 penalty minutes.
MacMillan was traded along with defenseman Justin Suda to the Utah Grizzlies for forward Tony Romano.
"I just thought we needed a little more skill at the center position," coach Nick Vitucci said. "Malcolm is a good hard worker and he contributed a lot. But I thought it was a spot we could get better at."
The Walleye (31-25-4) play at 7:05 tonight at Trenton (25-26-9). The Walleye are the seventh seed out of eight for the playoffs, while the Devils would not qualify and are seven points behind Toledo.
"I had been thinking about this for a while," Vitucci said. "We are desperate to get a playoff spot. I want to put us in the best position to do that."
Prior to coming to Toledo, MacMillan had 715 penalty minutes in four seasons with four ECHL teams.
Vitucci, who also is the team's director of operations, said Romano is a "highly-skilled center."
Romano, who was a sixth-round NHL pick of New Jersey in 2006, has split time this year between Bridgeport of the American Hockey League and Utah of the ECHL. He has appeared in 21 AHL games (1 G, 1 A), and 34 games with the Grizzlies (9 G, 15 A).
Last season, Romano led the powerhouse Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League in scoring (36 G, 33 A).
Suda, who was a healthy scratch all three games last weekend, became a victim of Toledo's depth at the defenseman position. Suda had one goal and four assists in 46 games and had a team-low minus-14 rating.
In a separate move, the Walleye signed former Bowling Green State University defenseman Kyle Page, who just completed his senior season.
Page posted a career-high in points with 17 (3 G, 14 A) this season while serving as the team's captain for a second consecutive year. In 2008-09, Page was named BG's top defensive player.
"He's a very good player that can contribute on both sides of the puck," Vitucci said. "He plays with a lot of energy. He will be a nice fit."
The ECHL trade deadline is 3 p.m. Friday.
Contact Mark Monroe at:
mmonroe@theblade.com
or 419-724-6354.