Coventry Blaze have added Canadian defenceman Benn Olson to their roster for the 2012/13 Elite League season. .
The 25-year-old British Columbia native split last season in the American Hockey League with Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Houston Aeros and ECHL sides Alaska Aces and Ontario Reign.
He has amassed more than 1500 penalty minutes in his ice hockey career so far and Paul Thompson said to the Blaze website: “Benn is another player who ticks all the boxes. He is a big body who will play physical, who will be banging bodies around and who will take care of business.
“There is more to him than just fighting and taking penalty minutes – he has a big reach and was used on the penalty kill in the AHL. He is not one-dimensional, far from it. He looks after himself and has a fantastic attitude."
“I have been chasing Benn for six weeks and he turned down an AHL contract to come to us. He is still very young and is excited to be coming to Coventry and playing in the Elite League.”
Olson joins Shea Guthrie, James Griffin, Ross Venus, Sam Smith, Russell Cowley, Peter Hirsch, Matt Selby, Jerramie Domish, Mike Danton, Gerome Giudice and Mike Egener on the roster for next season.