09/03/2008 3:17 PM -
Clayton joins forwards Blaznek, Joe Ori, Neil Poulsen and Brett Smith and defensemen Dale Lupul and
Clay Thoring as the seven Mudbugs officially under contract for the 2008-09 season. Bossier-Shreveport will kick off its 12th season on October
17th at 7:05 pm at CenturyTel Center against the Texas Brahmas. Call 318-752-BUGS or stop by the team office inside CenturyTel Center to purchase
group or season tickets.
BOSSIER CITY, LA - For the second consecutive week, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs have made a splash
with a prominent player announcement, this time signing long-time Central Hockey League star Travis Clayton. Clayton comes to Bossier-Shreveport after
spending all of his 11 professional seasons with the Wichita Thunder. The 32-year-old centerman ranks second all-time in CHL history in games played (696)
and goals (326) and third in assists (508) and total points (834).
"Travis is a guy that, in watching him play throughout the years, just always struck me as a
Mudbug," Head Coach Scott Muscutt said of Clayton. "He always works exceptionally hard and battles every single night. We are definitely looking
forward to having a guy with his achievements who comes in with some veteran savvy and has a true passion and hunger for the game."
Clayton's impressive resume also includes six CHL all-star appearances (1999, 2000, '02, '03,
'05, and '06), five seasons finishing in the league's top ten scorers, a 2005 selection to the All-CHL team, and better than a point-per-game
scoring average in nine of his 11 pro seasons.
"I'm really excited for this opportunity that Scott gave me to come to Bossier-Shreveport. They
have some great leaders in that locker room and I can just step in and be myself," Clayton said. "I'm just going to be a small piece of the
puzzle to a lot of good things that are going to happen for us down there."
"Obviously I'm looking forward to reuniting with my old linemate, Joe Blaznek, and seeing what
we can do to help the Mudbugs win."
Some of Clayton's best days in Wichita came when he shared the ice with winger Joe Blaznek, who
signed with the Bugs last week after he was acquired in a trade. Playing on a line with Blaznek for three seasons from 04-05 to 06-07, Clayton recorded point
totals of 93, 83 and 68 points, respectively. The two players also combined to score over 200 goals in those three seasons, which included two berths in the
CHL Northern Conference Finals for the Thunder.
"It all came together pretty quickly," Clayton said of both players becoming Mudbugs.
"With Joe coming over in the trade last week and now me signing here, it kind of happened all at once. It's going to be fun."
The 5-8, 180-lb. Clayton has been one of the CHL's top players for a number of years now, leading
Wichita in scoring four times and reaching the 25-goal mark on nine different occasions. His career highs with the Thunder include 42 goals in 1999-00, 57
assists in 2002-03, and 93 points in 2004-05. Clayton needs just 42 more points to surpass Doug Lawrence as the second-leading scorer in CHL history.
A native of Paradise Hill, Saskatchewan, Clayton played four seasons for the North Battleford North Stars
of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League before turning pro. During his fourth pro season in Wichita (2000-01), he earned two separate call-ups to the
triple-A level, playing 12 games with the Detroit Vipers and Kansas City Blades of the International Hockey League. Other than that, Clayton has spent his
entire professional career in a Thunder uniform, currently ranking as that franchise's all-time leader in games played, goals, assists, points, and
penalty minutes.
This dream
now has me tossin and turnin in my sleep......i won't be fully awakened until it's announced we signed Tobler......
This is some fantastic news about Clayton. It
says alot about our organization. He was an un-restricted free agent that could have chosen anywhere to play. And he had a bunch of teams wanting him to play
for them. I'm so glad he has chosen to play for our BUGS. WTG Scotty. You have brought in two very good ones.
.
Some people have questioned whether Blaz and Travis will be able to adjust enough to "fit into the
system". I figure those two have been around long enough to know how things are here and expect they will make a great addition to our Bugs.
