SWAMP RABBITS ACQUIRE ROMEO, SIGN OSIK

(GREENVILLE, S.C.) – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, announced a flurry of Swamp Rabbit Moving Transactions today:

• The Swamp Rabbits have acquired defenseman Chandler Romeo in exchange for Patrick Moynihan in a trade with the Idaho Steelheads
• The Swamp Rabbits have signed Derek Osik to an SPC, calling him up from the SPHL’s Knoxville Ice Bears
• Mitch Atkins has been released

Romeo heads to the Swamp Rabbits in the midst of his first professional season. The 6’6”, 210-pound blue liner comes to the Upstate after most recently appearing in 10 games with the Idaho Steelheads. He made his professional debut earlier this season with the newest ECHL member Bloomington Bison on October 24^th at Iowa, and registered his first professional point with an assist at Cincinnati on November 1^st.

From Cambridge, Ontario, Romeo, 21, turned professional after playing four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, split between the Guelph Storm, Sarnia Sting, and Hamilton Bulldogs, compiling 12 goals, 31 assists, and 43 points and 218 PIM in 189 games. He was drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the 2021 NHL Draft (7^th Rd/#202).

Moynihan heads to Idaho having notched his first professional goal and 14 assists in 27 games.

Osik joins the Swamp Rabbits for his second career ECHL stint. The 6’0”, 180-pound forward is averaging just shy of a point-per-game pace with the SPHL’s Knoxville Ice Bears, earning seven goals and 23 points in 24 contests. 

Hailing from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Osik, 26, has 94 career games to his credit in the SPHL with the Ice Bears and Evansville Thunderbolts, earning 26 goals, 43 assists, and 69 points. Previously in the ECHL, he played 11 games and earned an assist with the Worcester Railers in the 2022-23 season. Before turning professional, Osik split four seasons of NCAA college hockey with two each at UMass-Lowell ad Long Island University, playing in the inaugural Division I season with the latter. He earned a goal and six points in 30 games between both institutions. 

Atkins made his Swamp Rabbits debut on Tuesday against Norfolk, going -1 in the loss.

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About the Greenville Swamp Rabbits …
Acquired by Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) in 2020, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team have been providing family friendly, live entertainment at Bon Secours Wellness Arena since 2010. Formerly the Greenville Road Warriors, the Swamp Rabbits are the highest-level professional minor league franchise in South Carolina. The Swamp Rabbits are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL's LA Kings and the AHL's Ontario Reign. Greenville is a member of the ECHL, Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League.