Walleye signee Mercier played in NHL
8/20/2014The Toledo Walleye have signed Justin Mercier, a forward who played briefly in the NHL.
Mercier was a sixth-round pick of Colorado in the 2005 NHL draft, and appeared in nine games with the Avalanche in the 2009-10 season. He scored his first NHL goal on Feb. 4, 2010. He also had one assist during his tenure in the top tier of professional hockey.
Mercier, 27, will be entering his sixth pro season. The native of Erie, Pa., split last season between Idaho in the ECHL, and Iowa and Bridgeport of the American Hockey League.
As captain at Idaho, Mercier had a career best 30 points (18 goals, 12 assists) in 43 games. The forward has played in 239 games at the AHL level (41G, 40A, and 213 penalty minutes) with stops in Lake Erie, Iowa, and Bridgeport.
“Justin brings great leadership and experience to us in Toledo,” Walleye coach Derek Lalonde said. “This is a tremendous signing for us going into the season. It is exciting for us to add a player of his caliber on and off the ice to this team.”
Mercier was teammates with Walleye forward Alden Hirschfeld at Miami University.
Mercier played in 157 games for the RedHawks and finished with 104 points (52 goals and 52 assists).