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• Everblades deal defenseman Peto, find help in Nimmo
• Craig Brush guest column: It's been a great 10 years at Germain Arena

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ESTERO — As the Florida Everblades added another former ECHL All-Star to their roster Tuesday, new coach Malcolm Cameron was asked if the “big signing” he alluded to earlier this summer had already been announced.

“I think (the player we announced today) is a big signing ... I think we’ve already made a lot of big signings,” Cameron said coyly. “But honestly we still have some very significant announcements left to make.”

Forward Ryan Lang, an All-Star during the 2006-07 season, was announced as the newest member of the Blades on Tuesday. The 28-year-old, who spent last season in Italy, said he’s giving it one last shot to try to eventually get an AHL contract in North America.

“It’s the same thing that most hockey players think. ... You might have an opportunity to move up in the rankings,” Lang said Tuesday from his home in Saskatchewan. “I also just kinda want to get back to North American hockey. ... With Malcolm being the head coach, this is a great opportunity for me to be on a winning team.”

Lang, at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds, won’t be the biggest forward on the ice next season, but it’s likely he’ll be the fastest. He won the fastest skater competition in the 2007 ECHL All-Star skills competition, and Cameron said Lang is one of the fastest skaters he’s ever seen.

When asked to compare Lang to former Everblades forward Dustin Johner, who was known for his speed and agility, Cameron said: “I don’t think Johner was anywhere near as fast as (Lang).”

Lang has also been a scorer since his senior year at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, when he had 23 points in 36 games. During the 2006-07 season for the South Division’s Augusta Lynx, Lang had 25 goals and 48 assists in 61 games. He also served as Augusta’s captain that season.

“When you’re out there recruiting you want guys who are experienced, guys who have been top-line players, guys who are talented, guys who have served as captains,” Cameron said. “Lang has all those qualities.”

On the Blades, Lang will re-join 2007 All-Star game starting linemate Kevin Baker. The two have already discussed playing together next season for the new-look Blades, who have re-signed just three players from last year’s team. Those returnees are forwards Jarret Lukin, Ernie Hartlieb and Mike McLean. Other players already signed include forwards Andrew Fournier and David Nimmo, and defensemen Brad Zanon, Aaron Brocklehurst and Kyle Peto.

Hartlieb is the only veteran signed thus far, leaving the Blades three open veteran slots, which Cameron hinted at already having filled.

One player expected to fill one of those veteran slots was former Texas Wildcatters All-Star John McNabb, who scored 82 points in 71 games last season. But Cameron said Tuesday he doesn’t expect McNabb to come to Florida.

“I think he will definitely play closer to home (in Texas) next year,” Cameron said of the 30-year-old McNabb. “It was a tough thing on his marriage last year. ... I think he’ll end up with a CHL team in Texas, if he decides to play another season.”

Another player still deciding is former Everblades center Preston Callander, who joined the team midway through last season and went on to score 57 points in 47 games. Cameron said he talked to Callander last Sunday.

“He was still trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life between playing hockey or working for a living,” Cameron said of Callander, who also has options to play in Europe or the AHL. “But it’s still pretty early.”

Cameron has also been in touch with former Everblades and Wildcatters defenseman John Adams, who told Cameron a few weeks ago that he’d like to play in Florida if he’s not able to secure an AHL contract.

Former Blades forward Brad Herauf had been considered a lock to return to the team as early as May, when he attended Cameron’s press conference as a team representative. But Cameron said Tuesday that he’s still talking to Herauf every few days regarding his contract.

“Right now we’re in a very good position. ... We’re very hopeful to come a decision soon with him,” Cameron said.

DAMON TO EUROPE: The Blades’ marquee player of the 2007-08 season will spend next season in Finland.

Derek Damon, 28, signed a one-year deal last month with Assat Pori of the top ice hockey league in Finland and one of the top leagues overall in Europe.

He scored 45 goals and added 78 assists in 107 games the past two seasons for the Blades.

Cameron said that until “pretty recently,” it looked as though Damon could end up back in Florida.

“I talked to him about every second or third day,” Cameron said. “Then this Finland thing just popped up in the last week or two. ... It was a financial opportunity he couldn’t pass up. I told him he’d be crazy not to take it.”