Swamp Rabbits ink pair of rookies

Greenville, S.C. – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, announced the team has agreed to terms with rookie forward John Siemer and rookie defenseman Chad Duchesne for the 2016-17 season.

Siemer spent each of the last three seasons at Northern Michigan University. He recorded 43 points (16g-27a) and 62 penalty minutes in 85 career games, including a career-best 18 points (7g-11a) in 21 appearances as a freshman.

Prior to his collegiate career, the Baldwin Park, Calif. native played three seasons in the junior ranks between the North American Hockey League, United States Hockey League and British Columbia Hockey League. Siemer’s most successful season came in 2012-13 when he notched 69 points (25g-44a) in 55 games with the BCHL's Coquitlam Express and Penticton Vees. The 24year-old led Coquitlam in scoring that season despite playing just 37 games with the Express.

Duchesne joins the Swamp Rabbits from the Kingston Frontenacs in the Ontario Hockey League . The 21-year-old totaled two seasons with Kingston boasting 32 points (7g-25a) in 58 games from the blue line in 2015-16.

Before his seasons in the OHL, the Inverary, Ontario native spent one year with the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede where he was the teams' top-scoring defenseman with 25 points (6g-19a) in 51 games. He also played for the Kingston Voyageur in the Ontario Junior Hockey League, garnering 29 points (10g-19a) from 2011-13.