The St. Louis Jr. Blues, proud members of the NA3HL, are pleased to announce that forward Jake Wiethaupt has signed a NAHL tender with the Shreveport Mudbugs. The Mudbugs are the defending NAHL Robertson Cup champions and play in the South Division.
A former NAPHL standout with Carshield AAA, the 6’0″, 175 lb native of O’Fallon, Mo. has become an excellent contributor since joining the Jr. Blues for his rookie season in junior hockey. In 20 games, he has scored 12 goals and as many assists, with a plus-minus rating of +20. At the recently concluded NA3HL Showcase, he recorded a point in all three games, with a goal and an assist versus the Northeast Generals, the game-winning goal and two helpers against the Louisiana Drillers, and an assist as the Jr. Blues beat the Lewiston/Auburn Nordiques.
Jr. Blues coach Chris Flaugher said that “Jake’s been a great asset to our team since he came aboard. He’s a great offensive threat, strong on face-offs, and plays a 200-foot game that suits our club well. We’re confident that Shreveport will be getting a great player as well as a great young man.”
Mudbugs assistant coach and scout Tom Winkler added that “Jake’s a guy that competes every shift. He’s got good speed, good hockey sense. He fits the mold of what we’re looking for at Shreveport, where we like to play a high-tempo game. He’s going to fill that role for us.”
Wiethaupt is the latest in a growing production line of players from the Jr. Blues that have made their way down south to play for the Mudbugs. Two seasons ago, Jr. Blues alumnus Frankie Melton won the NAHL’s goal-scoring title while in Shreveport, parlaying that into an NCAA Division I commitment to Ferris State, while this year Mark Capkovic has become a regular fixture on the Mudbugs blue-line.
