Coventry Blaze Head Coach Danny Stewart has bolstered his 2016/17 Elite League defensive options with the signing of Shawn Boutin.

The 26-year-old, who joins the club from the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads, was drafted in the first round of the 2006 QMJHL entry draft by Val-d’Or Foreurs.

He spent five years with the club, playing over 300 games, before turning professional with Arizona Sundogs in 2011.

Boutin has made nearly 350 appearances in the CHL and ECHL, during which time he helped Stockton Thunder to the Western Conference Championship in 2013 and their first and only appearance in the Kelly Cup Finals.

He played a key role in the achievement, making 92 appearances in the single season and leading the group of defensemen with a positive plus/minus over the play-off campaign.

Head Coach Danny Stewart said: “Shawn is an excellent defenceman who skates well. He will bring some added mobility to our back-end and also play in all situations.

“He’s a puck moving guy that makes us better going forward. The more our forwards have the puck in good areas the better and he does this.

“With Shawn we get another competitor and high work rate, but also a guy that will be a big hit in the room.

“We had the luxury of speaking to a couple of our current players about him and the references could not have been more positive and similar.

“He will log big minutes and makes us considerably better at the back.”

(Image permission: Asvitt Photography)