Last season, the Quad City Mallards snuck into the Kelly Cup Playoffs and were unceremoniously swept by the top-seeded Missouri Mavericks. Olivier Archambault, after a 52 point (22 goals, 30 assists) regular season, scored a point in three of the four games. Now, Archambault has signed with the South Carolina Stingrays.
“Looking at my contract options with my agent, South Carolina was the number one team on my list,” said Archambault. “I have heard really great things from some teammates. I was happy to hear from Coach Ryan Warsofsky and I am excited for the season. I’m an offensive player so I’ll look to bring that, but in my first two years pro, I’ve worked hard on my defensive game. I want to continue getting better and I am excited to be a Stingray.”
The former Montreal Canadiens draft pick (2011) skated 10 games for their AHL affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs in 2012-13. He went back to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) to finish his junior career with the Quebec Ramparts.
From Le Gardeur, Quebec, Archambault signed with the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League in 2014-15, getting assigned to then-affiliate Alaska. He split the season between Anchorage and Des Moines, scoring 38 points in 38 games in the ECHL. When Iowa changed its affiliation to Quad City, Archambault followed suit.
“We’re excited to have Olivier,” said Warsofsky. “He is an offensive, dynamic forward who skates very well. Looking at his numbers, he puts up some big points. We have some key returners, but with Olivier, we have added a guy to the mix who can score goals, set up plays and help on the power play. He’s a guy we are going to look to for a lot of our offensive, and he is another big piece of the puzzle.”
Archambault continued his scoring ways, garnering 52 points in 50 games with Quad City, and earned a six game call-up to the Wild.
With the departure of David Pacan, Kelly Zajac, and Stephan Vigier, players like Archambault will be looked at to produce consistently for the Stingrays.
