The Port Moody Panthers today announced the signing of 2003-born defender Joel Elsaesser for the 2023-24 Pacific Junior Hockey League season.
Elsaesser spent the 2022-23 season in the Premier division of the United States Premier Hockey League. He started the season with two goals and four assists in 31 games for the Utah Outliers, who play out of West Valley City, Utah. The Vancouver, B.C. product then signed with Provo on Feb. 15, 2023, and finished with one assist in four regular season games with the Predators.
In the USPHL Premier playoffs with Provo, Elsaesser chipped in with one assist in a pair of games. He skated in 38 games with the Kerry Park Islanders in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League in 2021-22, tallying five assists. In the 2022 VIJHL playoffs, Elsaesser had three assists in 10 games for the Islanders. He was also signed that season as an affiliate player for the Alberni Valley Bulldogs.
He is a product of the Greater Vancouver Canadians program in the B.C. Elite Hockey League. Elsaesser only got into five exhibition games with the GVC U18 AAA team in 2020-21 due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic after putting up seven assists in 40 games for the Canadians in 2019-20. He started with GVC in 2018-19 and notched two assists in 21 games during his 15-year-old season.
Elsaesser is expected to make his Panthers debut wearing number 4 on Friday as Port Moody visits Ridge Meadows.
