Today, September 6th, the Orlando Solar Bears announced the signings of Ben Carroll and Louka Henault for the 2023-24 season.
Defenseman Ben Carroll has played five professional seasons and four of those with the ECHL. Carroll stands at 6-foot, 190 pounds, and has appeared in 134 regular-season games and 12 playoff games for the Allen Americans. Carroll gained 39 points (5g-34a) while playing on the ECHL’s Allen Americans from 2019 through 2022. Last season, 2023-24, Carroll went overseas to Denmark to play with the Aalborg Pirates for 44 games. With the Aalborg Pirates, he scored 16 points (4g-12a) during his time on the team with new teammate Brayden Low. Prior to his time in the ECHL, the Sherwood Park, AB, Canada native played at the University of Alberta for four seasons. During his collegiate career, he scored 42 points (6g-36a) in his 107 games. While playing at the University of Alberta, the team won the USports University Cup Championship during the 2017-2018 season.
22-year-old Louka Henault will be playing in his second season in the ECHL. Last season, Henault played for the Jacksonville Icemen for 41 games, scoring 13 points (3g-10a). During the 2021-22 season, Henault wore the “A” for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, where he played 63 games and scored 65 points (8g-57a). During the 2020-21 season, Louka Henault was in Espoo, Finland, where he played for the Kiekko-Espoo for 17 games. Before that, he was with the Windsor Spitfires for three seasons, where he played 170 games. Henault is a great defenseman. He led the entire OHL in assists by defenseman with 57 in the 2021-22 season, and he was voted “Best Offensive Defenseman” by the OHL Coaches Poll during the 2021-22 season.
Orlando Solar Bears Current Signings:
Forwards: Luke Boka, Joe Carroll, Ryan Cox, Alex Frye, D-Jay Jerome, Brayden Low, Aaron Luchuk, Patrick Newell, Jamie Rome
Defensemen: Ben Carroll, Chris Harpur, Louka Henault, Jimmy Mazza, Chris Perna, Mitchell Smith, Jake Stevens
