The Adirondack Thunder will get another body on the blueline as Mikael Diotte was sent down to the Thunder from the Utica Comets. Diotte,23, signed his entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils in March and has played in five games this season with Utica while putting up one assist. This is the second defenseman that the Thunder have gotten from Utica after Jackson van de Leest was sent down to Adirondack on Sunday. Heading into the only game of the weekend on Saturday vs Trois-Rivieres Lions, I would expect van de Leest and Diotte to be in the lineup. Just three games into the 2024-25 regular season, the Thunder have already dressed eight different defensemen, and that number is expected to grow after this weekend.
Prior to going pro, the Ste-Julie, Quebec native played parts of the last five seasons in the QMJHL with the Drummondville Voltigeurs, where he scored 22 goals and added 70 assists for 92 points in 207 games while also leading all Voltigeur defensemen in goals over the past two seasons. His best season in the QMJHL came last season, when he scored 12 goals and 30 assists for 42 points in 59 games while also playing in three games during the 2024 Memorial Cup. Diotte would win the Kevin Lowe Trophy in 2024, awarded to the best defensive defenseman in the QMJHL. I would expect the young defenseman to play a strong game defensively while also providing a boost offensively to a blue line that has been finding their way onto the scoresheet early in the season.
