Duval Is a Bison
r The Manitoba Bison men’s hockey team builds toward the 2009-10 season as returning head coach Mike Sirant adds another new recruit – he played in the Western Hockey League (WHL) as a forward. Bisons head coach Mike Sirant is pleased to announce the commitment of Ian Duval to the Bison program for the upcoming season.
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r Duval, 21, finished the 2008-09 season with the 2009 WHL Champion and 2009 Memorial Cup finalist Kelowna Rockets. Duval was tied for ninth in 2009 WHL playoff scoring with 18 points (ten goals – tied for fifth highest in WHL, eight assists) in 22 games. In the 2009 WHL playoffs, he added a +14 plus/minus rating while notching two game winning goals and two power play goals. In the 2009 Memorial Cup, Duval registered one goal in four games. In the 2008-09 season, the Winnipeg native started with the Moose Jaw Warriors with 31 points (14g, 17a) in 31 regular season games and then added another 30 points (10g, 20a) in 26 regular season games with Kelowna and named WHL Player of the Week (Dec. 8-14/08).
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r The 6’0”, 180 lbs. forward was also with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen for the 2007-08 season and most of the 2006-07 season. With the Hitmen, Duval earned the Hitmen`s Most Sportsmanlike Award in 2006-07 plus accounted for 83 points (40g, 43a) in 125 regular season games with 86 penalty minutes and added 10 points (7g, 3a) in 34 playoff games. He started his WHL career with the Regina Pats at the end of the 2003-04 season and went to the beginning of the 2006-07 season. In two plus seasons with the Pats, Duval had 58 points (22g, 36a) in 149 regular season games and played in eight playoff games.
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r Sirant commented, “This is a big signing for the Bison Hockey program. We expect Ian to have an impact at the Canada West level. He has excellent speed, puck skills and good vision on the ice plus he can score. Having played a key role with the WHL Champion Kelowna Rockets, Ian knows what it takes to be successful and brings a winning attitude to the Bisons.”
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r Prior to the WHL, Duval played for the Central Plains Capitals in Portage la Prairie, MB in the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League and scored 61 points (32g, 29a) in 40 regular season games in the 2003-04 season. In 2002-03, he was with the Winnipeg Hawks AAA Bantam team.
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