Former Islanders defenceman Cortese lands spot with NAHL's Corpus Christi

Photo credit: The Guardian

Former Charlottetown Islanders defenceman Anthony Cortese has joined the Corpus Christi IceRays of the North American Hockey League.

The 20-year-old Pierrefonds, Que. native registered an assist in the IceRay’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Topeka RoadRunners last night.

A few days ago, Cortese sent the following tweet.

Very excited to be hoping on a plane to Texas for the hockey season. See you all at Christmas ☺️
— Anthony Cortese (@acortzy) September 11, 2014

The Islanders released Cortese from training back in August. He was not picked up by any QMJHL team and was eventually invited to Oshawa Generals’ training camp.

Cortese was acquired by the P.E.I. Rocket back in the 2012-13 season from the Gatineau Olympiques. In 27 games with the Rocket, Cortese scored three goals and eight points. Last season, the five-foot-10, 181-pound defenceman scored eight goals and 33 points in 68 games.