Solar Bears Sign Spencer Bennett and Jesse Dudas
 

Orlando, FL - The Orlando Solar Bears announced today that the team has agreed to terms with F Spencer Bennett and D Jesse Dudas.

Bennett (6'3", 190 lbs.) played 13 games last season with the Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL) and Portland Pirates (AHL), scoring two goals and one assist in nine games in Portland and tallying two assists with the Gladiators. Bennett played two seasons (2009-11) in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with Portland and Vancouver before turning pro, earning 110 points on 56 goals and 54 assists in 143 games. The White Rock, BC, native was drafted in the fifth round, #141 overall, by the Calgary Flames in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Dudas (6'1", 225 lbs.) has played 31 games for the Bloomington Blaze in the Central Hockey League (CHL) this season, racking up 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points. His 14 goals leads all CHL defensemen, while he is tied for first among defensemen in points. His professional career has included stops in Fort Worth and Corpus Christi in the CHL, as well as the Bloomington PrairieThunder in the IHL and Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL.

From St. Albert, Alberta, Dudas played 171 games in the WHL over five seasons with Regina, Swift Current, Prince George, and Lethbridge (2004-09) scoring 11 goals and adding 82 assists for 93 points along with 238 PIM. He competed in the World Hockey Championship Under-17 division in 2004-05, leading all defensemen with seven points in three games. He was selected in the sixth round, #159 overall, by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.