News release
22 August 2006
Elmira, NY The Elmira Jackals announced today that they have signed All-Star defenseman Scott Drevitch to a contract for the upcoming campaign. He becomes the 13th player signed by the Jackals for the 2006-07 Season.
The Jackals latest defenseman to sign on for the teams seventh season of operations is one of the biggest of the summer. Three-time UHL All-Star Scott Drevitch has agreed to terms with the new look Jackals, the second former Adirondack rival to cross over to the good side. The Jackals acquired the UHL rights to Drevitch on June 15th, 2006 during the Second Dispersal Draft of the off-season, necessitated by both Adirondack and Danbury ceasing operations. The 510, 180 lbs native of Brookline, Massachusetts had another superb season with the Frostbite in 2005-06, putting up 58 points (14 goals, 44 assists) and a +12 rating in 70 games played. Of his 14 goals last year, 6 of them came on the power play and 5 were game winning goals. Drevitch becomes the 5th current Jackals player with veteran status (300+ professional games played), along with Brent Cullaton, Scott Wray, Arturs Kupaks, and Frank Littlejohn.
One of the true iron men of professional hockey, Drevitch, who turns 41-years old in September, continues to be the oldest active player to skate in the United Hockey League. During his 18 year pro career he has accumulated some impressive numbers while playing for teams in the AHL, IHL, UHL, ECHL and WCHL, along with teams overseas in Sweden, Austria and Holland. Drevitch is just 16 points shy of 1,000 for his career; in 1,118 games played he has 984 points (223 goals, 761 assists) and 997 penalty minutes. When he dons an Elmira uniform and steps on to the ice at First Arena in October, he will also become the oldest player to ever play for the Jackals.
Drevitch is yet another player brought in by General Manager Robbie S. Nichols with a championship on his rsum; Drevitch helped lead the Tacoma Sabercats to the 1998-99 Taylor Cup Championship as the champions of the West Coast Hockey League; he also was named the 1998-99 WCHL Defenseman of the Year. During his five seasons with Tacoma, Drevitch scored 313 points in 321 games, averaging almost a point per game, and he left as the WCHLs all-time leader among defensemen in points and assists; the WCHL merged with the ECHL shortly thereafter.
His stellar play and leadership are only topped by his consistency; Drevitch hasnt scored fewer than 46 points in his last 15 seasons of hockey. He has been to the playoffs 11 times in 18 years, posting a mark of 72 points (15 goals, 57 assists) and 58 PIMs in 75 career playoff games played. During the 2004-05 season, Drevitch led all UHL defensemen in points (61) and assists (48). He has been named to the UHL All-Star Game in each of the last three seasons, the UHL did not hold an All-Star game in 2002-03, his first year in the league. Prior to that season with the Port Huron Beacons, Drevitch was a 5-time WCHL All-Star for every year he was in Tacoma.
Drevitch, who is reunited with former Adirondack teammate Frank Littlejohn, has seen an end to his 3-year stint in Glens Falls, New York. For the Icehawks/Frostbite he scored 183 points (37 goals, 140 assists) in 226 games played; he missed only 6 regular season games in his three seasons of play. Drevitch played four years of Division I college hockey, one year with the University of Maine and three years with the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, both of Hockey East.