CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. - Jim Hulton is kind of a Mountie. After all, he did get his man.
The Charlottetown Islanders head coach and general manager signed free agent forward Cole Edwards, a Kingston, Ont., native, out of the Ontario junior A ranks for the upcoming Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season.
But it wasn’t easy as Edwards had committed to Colorado College for 2018-19.
“He was a kid we went hard after last year, ironically. The timing wasn’t right for him and his family,” Hulton said. “I think it was the opportunity to play at a higher level right now. He’d already completed his second year in junior A. That was part of it, to get to a higher level sooner.”
Edwards, 18, had 30 goals an 30 assists in 100 games with the Kingston Voyageurs of the Ontario junior A league over the last two seasons and brings the kind of full-speed forechecking game Hulton prefers. That style took a team, loaded with who many considered average talent, to the QMJHL semifinals this season.
And Hulton sees the five-foot-11, 175-pound Edwards fitting in just fine.
“We never like to categorize any player, it’s up to the kids to decide, but he’s a right shot forward that can play all three forward positions. I see a him initially on an energy line, he’s a Thomas Casey kind of player, with speed and aggressiveness on the forward line.”
Islanders training camp starts Aug. 17 in Cornwall.
