Cardiff Devils head coach Gerad Adams has today confirmed former Clarkson forward Jay Latulippe as the Devils' final import forward for the 2008-09 season. Cardiff competes in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).

Latulippe, 26, joins the Devils after playing the last two seasons in the Central Hockey League (CHL), most recently in Texas with the Corpus Christi Rayz. However, it was a former teammate of Latulippe from three years ago that gave Adams the incentive to sign the American forward.

"Jay was recommended to me by Tyson Teplitsky," said Adams.

"They played together for the Dayton Bombers in the ECHL and Tyson said he would be a great fit for us in Cardiff.  Jay's a smaller player, but he's a fast skater and very aggressive."

Latulippe, a 5-foot-10inch, 180-pound forward, had an outstanding college career at Clarkson and began his pro career in the 2004-05 season. Last year Latulippe notched 12 goals and 30 assists in 45 games for the Rayz after originally starting the season with the Odessa Jackalopes.

"Jay is an offensive-minded player - he was the top scorer on his college team," said Adams.

"He's also a versatile forward with the ability to play both centre and wing. But he's also the kind of guy who's not afraid to battle for the puck and will go into the corners."

After signing Latulippe and completing his forward pack, Adams already has a good idea of which players will be paired on the same line.

"Since Jay can play both centre and wing, he will start playing between Mike Prpich and Brad Voth,"said Adams.

"It's a line that I expect a good level of goal production from. Jay will feed both Brad and Mike with good quality passes and provide us with a lot of balance."