Brahmas announce Lawrence signing

Former ECHL scoring threat joins 2010-11 roster

Vegas Wranglers (The Texas Brahmas announced third-year pro Matt Lawrence as the 15th member of the 2010-11 roster on Wednesday afternoon. Lawrence, 27, spent the last two seasons with the LasECHL).

If you attended Making the Cut last Saturday morning, you probably saw Lawrence getting in a little ice time with the prospects before leaving with Brian Matte, Matt Pierce, Troy Schwab and goalie Wayne Savage to attend the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL) training camp. This is Lawrence's second trip to an AHL camp - last season he trained with the Binghampton Senators.

I spoke with Brahmas Assistant Coach Ron Vogel about Lawrence and he sounded pretty excited about having him on board. Head Coach Dan Wildfong also expressed confidence in Lawrence's ability to make an impact this season.

"In the recruiting process, we triple check every player we are interested in acquiring and Mick continued to have great things reported," Wildfong said. "Based on this, we have high expectations for him this season and believe he will impress both the Oklahoma organization and us."

Lawrence with Dan Wildfong on Saturday

Lawrence, 27, spent his first two pro seasons with the Las Vegas Wranglers (ECHL). During his rookie year in 2008-09, he registered 34 points (16 G, 18 A) and 85 penalty minutes in 38 regular season games played. He added three goals and 27 PIM in 13 post-season contests.

Last season, the Port Coquitlam, BC native tallied 52 points (23 G, 29 A) and 104 penalty minutes in 64 regular season games and added four points (1 G, 3 A) and 4 PIM in five post-season games.

Lawrence played two seasons of junior hockey beginning in 2002-03, when he signed with the Trail Smoke Eaters (BCHL) where he he put up an impressive 95 points (39 G, 56 A) and 173 PIM in 56 games played. The following season, Lawrence joined the River City Lancers (USHL) and tallied 64 points (26 G, 38 A) and 127 PIM in 58 regular season games and another three points (2 G, 1 A) in three playoff games.

In 2004-05, Lawrence began his collegiate career at the University of Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA). Lawrence would play four seasons for the Mavericks, scoring 102 points (51 G, 51 A) and 240 PIM in 146 games. During his senior year, he led the team in goals (21) and was second in points (40).

For you fight fans, here are a couple of videos courtesy of YouTube showing the 5' 10", 205 pound forward doing some damage:

Photo Credits: Top/Stephen Sylvanie; Bottom/Robert Keith