News release
30 August 2016
Joel Wetmore Among Four Invited from Pro Placement Camp
The Elmira Jackals, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres and AHL's Rochester Americans, announced today they have signed four players to tryout agreements from their 11th annual Pro Placement Camp, which took place this past weekend. Joel Wetmore, Ryan Wilkinson, Chris Stemke and Louie Educate will compete in the Jackals' main training camp in October for a chance to earn a Standard Player Contract.
Wetmore, 25, is from Horseheads and attended Utica College from 2012 to 2016, where he served as an alternate captain as a junior and senior. In 98 NCAA games for the Pioneers, Wetmore had 47 points (16g, 31a). He finished tied for second on the team with seven goals in 2015-16.
The Notre Dame High School (Class of 2009) product played the majority of his junior hockey career with the Lindsay Muskies (OJHL), where he skated in 95 games. The 6-foot, 185-pound forward added 74 points (35g, 39a) for the Muskies from 2010 to 2012.
Educate, 26, played the majority of last season in Germany, compiling 32 points (19g, 13a) in 16 games. He played in 12 games for the Southern Professional Hockey League's (SPHL) Knoxville Ice Bears between the end of the 2014-15 season and the beginning of the 2015-16 season. He added six points (1g, 5a) with the Ice Bears.
Educate is another Utica College product, playing the final three seasons of his collegiate career there from 2012 to 2015. In his first season, the Libertyville, Illinois native racked up a team-high 36 points (18g, 18a) and was the first player in program history named to the First-Team D3hockey.com Men's All-American squad. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound forward finished his collegiate career with 122 points (63g, 59a) in 103 games.
Wilkinson, 25, began his pro career at the end of last season, signing with the Mississippi RiverKings (SPHL) for three games. He also played in two games for the Louisiana IceGators (SPHL) to finish the season. Before turning pro, the St. Albert, Alberta native played four years at SUNY-Fredonia, where he had 37 points (4g, 33a) and 73 penalty minutes in 85 games. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound defenseman played junior hockey in the AJHL with the St. Albert Steel and Calgary Mustangs from 2008 to 2012.
Stemke, 21, played at Stony Brook University (ACHA) last season, where he posted nine points (3g, 6a) in 31 games. The Selden, New York native spent a season with the P.A.L Junior Islanders (USPHL), adding 42 points (21g, 21a) in 24 games. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound forward also played two seasons of lacrosse for Stony Brook.