The Florida Eels is thrilled to announce that veteran defensemen Clement Espinasse 2000 has Re-Signed with the Eels Premier team for the 2020-21 season. Espinasse is from Montpellier, FRANCE. He is a 3-year veteran of the Eels Junior Program joining us back in 2017-18 season. Prior to joining the Eels junior program, he played in Canada for the OHA for 2 seasons. In fact, Espinasse is one of many outstanding players who advanced from the OHA to the Eels over the last 5-6 years. Clement originally played as a forward during his first two years as an Eel but last season, he answered the call when the Eels Premier team had a void on defense. Premier Coach Frank Scarpaci felt Espinasse was a perfect candidate as he has a high hockey IQ, reads the ice very well, is a smooth strong skater, has very good stickhandling skills, had the ability to make clean crisp passes and has excellent overall skill set. Moreover, coach Scarpaci knew the Eels could get offensive production from Espinasse on the blueline; remembering Clement had scored 16 goals and 26 assists as an Eels and 29 goals and 24 assists while at the OHA totaling 45 goals and 50 assists averaging an impressive 1 point per game while playing in North America.
Clement at 6’0 175 uses his body very effectively. He has quick acceleration with and without the puck. He is offensive minded having been a forward most of his playing career. But this past season he impressed all of the Eels coaches with his defensive play in the D Zone He took this job and role very seriously. He has excellent gap control again taking his knowledge as forward and applying it to his defense responsibilities . He has great work ethic, and this shows as he relentlessly battles in front of his crease and along the boards. He is extremely difficult to beat with loose pucks using his size to wear down his opponents. He developed so well as a defensemen and he played a large part in his team securing First Place over all in the Florida Division winning a regular season Championship.
Clement is a very dedicated young man arriving at the rink early and staying after practice every day to shoot 100+ pucks. He is one of the Eels most loyal players. Very determined to get his game to the Next Level and ripen into a NCAA college player. He a team guy and shares that Eels unwavering commitment to win. He plays with that sandpaper edge to him. A very high compete level. We are very excited to have Clement back and help him realize his goals of winning a National Championship and advance to college.
