Coralville, Iowa – The Iowa Heartlanders signed two defensemen, adding returning blueliner Louka Henault and rookie Bogdans Hodass to the 2024-25 roster.
Henault, 23, registered 15 assists and 50 penalty minutes in 49 games with the Heartlanders last season. He has totaled 33 points (3g-30a) in 100 career ECHL games over the previous two seasons. Henault was one of the best point-producers in the Ontario Hockey League while with Windsor, leading league defensemen with 57 assists in 2021-22 and second with 65 points that same season.
Hodass, 21, has represented Latvia multiple times on the international stage and spent the last three seasons at the major junior level in the Western Hockey League with Medicine Hat. In 2023-24, he ranked second among Tigers' defensemen with seven goals and third with 28 points. Hodass played for the Latvian National Team at the 2022 and 2023 World Junior Championships. In 2022, he helped Latvia qualify for their first quarterfinal appearance in the country’s history at the World Juniors.