Watertown Wolves Acquire Fred Hein

By David Paige

The Watertown Wolves organization have been remarkably busy over the last couple weeks re-signing Ryan Marker and Justin Coachman for 2020-2021 season; however, this Friday, emotions and excitement levels really reached new levels in Watertown. The Wolves organization announced a huge blockbuster move that has sent waves throughout the FPHL nation, in a trade with the Danville Dashers.

The trade sees Dashers' leading scorer, Fred Hein, traded to the Watertown Wolves in exchange for William Lamoreux and three-time Defenseman of the Year and fan favorite, Kyle Powell, going to the Danville Dashers.  The news has shocked the Wolves Den, and emotions ran high, with some supporters sharing their views and opinions on social media.

Watertown Wolves Owner, Andreas Johansson, stated, “It’s never an easy decision to trade any player, regardless of who they are. Other than what they bring on the ice, you also look at their life off the ice, and you realize the impact a trade will have on their lives.  Kyle Powell obviously was a huge favorite with the fans here in Watertown, and meant a lot to the organization, both on and off the ice. I do not have a bad word to say about Kyle, and we wish him, as well as William all the best in Danville.  However, when an opportunity to acquire an elite level player like Fred Hein comes up, we simply had to do what we could to land him. Whenever you make a trade, it does not only impact the two players involved in the trade, it allows us to now go ahead and add more pieces to the puzzle. We are confident in being able to add defensemen as needed, as well as putting trust in our existing defensive core.  Over the course of a season we will play close to 70 games.  Ultimately to win a championship you will need to break it down to one game, one period, often even a single shift or a single opportunity in a game. Fred is one of the top players, and I know with the game on the line, he will be one of the guys we can send on to the ice and put our trust in him. I’ve always said since day one that I am coming to Watertown to bring championship rings to the fans, and unfortunately that is a process that will involve some painful roster moves.  I have complete confidence in Brent’s strategy and desires as far as how to build his team, and we will continue to get the right pieces that we need to be able to win the championship. Once again, we wish nothing but the best for Kyle and William in Danville.” 

Fred Hein had nothing but excitement when interviewed just after the trade was announced.  “I`m excited!  To be honest, Watertown is a place that I always saw myself wanting to play. It’s close to home and when I was with the Dashers, my family would make the trip from North Reading, Massachusetts every time I played in Watertown, so now my family gets to see me play more which I`m so happy about," Hein stated.

Hein spent the first 3 years of his professional career over in Sweden playing Division 1 and 2. The European style of hockey is much faster and the ice surface is bigger, which has added an element to Fred’s game. Fred is expected to bring depth and even more scoring power to an already strong Watertown Wolves team.

Hein is also excited to play at the Watertown Municipal Arena saying, “That arena is something special. I believe it`s always loud and it's different unlike any other arena is the FPHL. The seating is so much better, the fans are so much closer to you - right down on the glass which makes it even more fun to play.” 

Hein also had a message for all the Watertown Fans, “I take pride in who I play for and I promise I will not let you down. I can`t wait to meet you all and I`m hungry and ready to bring a championship back to Watertown.”

Watertown Wolves Head Coach Brent Clarke also had nothing but praise towards his new forward. “This guy is TOUGH,” Clarke said. “He is strong on the puck, he is not afraid to get gritty when needed and the guy has an amazing shot that is very accurate.”  Coach Clarke has been studying Fred’s game for years, so when this opportunity to try and trade to get him on the Wolves, he took advantage of it. “We are in the business to win championships and Fred will help us get that done. He is one of the best in the league and he is HUNGRY.” Clarke also wanted to state to all the Watertown fans, “Trust in the process you will be happy with the final outcome, I promise.”

Hein is one of the most consistent performers in the FPHL.  He is coming off an excellent 2^nd season with the Danville Dashers where he yet again posted impressive numbers scoring 57 goals and 54 assists for a total of 111 points in 85 games.

In Watertown, Fred will also re-unite will his close friend and former teammate Ryan Marker, which opens up some great possibilities to see some great offense.

According to Johansson, several more announcements are coming within the next week, and fans will be happy to see a couple of returning faces be unveiled within the next few days.

The Watertown Wolves will be back this Fall for another great year of hockey!  2020-2021 Season Pass Tickets are on sale now on the Watertown Wolves web site at watertownwolves.net.  Order yours and reserve your seats today!

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