By Brett Batchelor
The Birmingham Bulls have signed former Knoxville Ice Bears captain and current free agent Stefan Brucato to the red and black for the 2022-2023 SPHL season. Brucato spent the last five seasons with the Ice Bears, serving multiple years as the leader of the locker room, and spent last season as the captain for Knoxville. Along with being a leader in Knoxville, Brucato also spent time as a captain in college, playing at Johnson & Wales University.
Brucato has shown his leadership everywhere he has played, and that gets his new head coach fired up. “With Brucato, we have a very solid leadership core. Stefan is going to help lead the young players and that is a huge addition.”
Since joining the Knoxville Ice Bears in 2017, Stefan Brucato has made himself known as one of the most elite players in the SPHL. Brucato has scored twelve or more goals in three of the five seasons that he has played, while never having less than seventeen assists in each season during his five year career. Brucato’s best season to date came last year, scoring fourteen goals while assisting on twenty-four more goals totaling up thirty-eight points for the season. Stefan has also seen one call up to the ECHL, playing nine games for the Tulsa Oilers during the 2019-2020 season. Birmingham Bulls HC Craig Simchuk is excited to bring Brucato into the building. “It’s a huge addition to our team. Stefan brings leadership, experience, and a lot of skill. He has played with some guys from our team, so he will fit right in with the team and organization.”
Birmingham will be on the road to take on the Vermillion County Bobcats to begin their 2022- 2023 campaign on October 21st and 22nd. They will then take on the Huntsville Havoc in Huntsville on October 28th. Birmingham will have their first home game of the season on October 29th, taking on the Knoxville Ice Bears.
Call the front office at 205-620-6870 to order your season tickets or visit the website at bullshockey.net to order your tickets and to stay up to date on all Birmingham Bulls news, articles, video, and more.