YATES AND HAMILTON SIGNED BY GRIFFINS

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Grand Rapids Griffins on Thursday signed center Trevor Yates and defenseman Trevor Hamilton to one-year contracts for the 2018-19 season. Yates also signed an amateur tryout and will join the Griffins this week.

Yates, 23, skated in 33 games with the Cornell Big Red (ECAC) this season as an alternate captain and posted career highs in points (26), goals (13), assists (13) and plus-minus rating (+17) to cap off a four-year career. He tied for the team lead in both points and goals, helping the Big Red capture the Cleary Cup as the ECAC’s regular season champion and earn a second consecutive bid to the NCAA Tournament.

As a junior in 2016-17, the 6-foot-2, 203-pound center nearly doubled his production from his sophomore campaign, ranking fourth on the team in scoring with 22 points (12-10—22) in 35 games. He tied for second on the Big Red with 12 goals, including a team-high eight that were tallied on the power play.

A native of Beaconsfield, Quebec, Yates appeared in 120 career games with Cornell from 2014-18, producing 65 points (32-33—65), 30 penalty minutes and a plus-20 rating.

Yates was teammates at Cornell with current Griffins defenseman Patrick McCarron from 2014-17.

Prior to college, Yates played three seasons at Deerfield Academy (USHS-Prep) in Massachusetts and banked 104 points (52-52—104) in 74 games from 2011-14.

Trevor is the son of Ross Yates, who appeared in seven games with the Hartford Whalers in 1983-84 as part of an 11-year pro career. Ross is the former head coach of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch (2006-10) and the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs (2013-15).

Hamilton, 23, was named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-Big Ten selection this season after leading all conference blueliners with 29 points (6-23—29) in 38 games for the Penn State Nittany Lions. Among team skaters, he tied for the team lead in plus-minus and tied for third in scoring while helping Penn State reach the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season.

The 6-foot, 198-pound defenseman placed second among team blueliners in scoring with 26 points (6-20—26) in 39 appearances during the 2016-17 season and was a part of the Nittany Lions’ first-ever Big Ten Tournament Championship.

Hamilton began his college career at Miami University (Ohio) and totaled five assists in 31 games from 2013-15 before playing the rest of the 2014-15 season and 2015-16 in the USHL.

Hamilton suited up in 76 games with the Muskegon Lumberjacks from 2014-16 and amassed 53 points (15-38—53). The 2015-16 campaign saw Hamilton named to the USHL Second All-Star Team after posting the seventh-most points (11-24—35) among league defensemen. Hamilton appeared with three different teams during his award-winning 2015-16 season, posting 25 points in 32 games with Muskegon, before adding one point in two games with the Chicago Steel and nine points in 19 games with the Lincoln Stars.

A native of Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., Hamilton was a member of the U.S. National Development Team from 2011-13, scoring 12 points (2-10—12) and adding 71 PIM in 52 games.

The Griffins continue their playoff push tomorrow when they host the San Jose Barracuda at 7 p.m.

Single-game tickets are currently on sale. Fans can secure their full-season, select-season or group ticket packages by calling (616) 774-4585 ext. 2 or visit griffinshockey.com for more information.