Joel Bouchard, the general manager and head coach of the Syracuse Crunch, has made it known that forward Cooper Flinton was shifted by the Tampa Bay Lightning from the Syracuse Crunch to the Orlando Solar Bears.
Alongside Flinton’s movement, the Crunch also loaned forward Shawn Element to the Solar Bears, according to the announcement from syracusecrunch.com. Flinton, 23, has logged appearances in five games with the Crunch during the current season. Last year, the 6-foot-2, 212-pound forward skated in 50 games for Syracuse, registering five goals and one assist, alongside eight contests with Orlando. Since turning professional in 2024, Flinton has accumulated 59 career American Hockey League games entirely with the Crunch, totaling six goals and one assist. Before starting his professional career, the Auburn, New Hampshire native spent 89 games at Dartmouth College, where he recorded 32 goals and 64 points. The Tampa Bay Lightning originally drafted him in the seventh round, 211th overall, at the 2021 NHL Draft.
Element, 26, has skated in two games for the Crunch this season. His professional resume includes 31 games with the Milwaukee Admirals last year, where he tallied five goals and one assist. In addition, his playing time included five contests with the Providence Bruins alongside eight matchups with the Maine Mariners in the ECHL, during which he put up one goal and four assists. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound forward has appeared in 246 career AHL games across stints with Syracuse, Milwaukee, Providence, and Ontario, generating 61 points on 34 goals and 27 assists while collecting 301 penalty minutes. Element has additionally skated in 23 career ECHL games split between Maine and Orlando, totaling 14 points on five goals and nine assists. Prior to turning pro, the Victoriaville, Quebec native played 274 career QMJHL games from 2016 to 2021 with the Victoriaville Tigres, Cape Breton Eagles, Acadie-Bathurst Titan, and Baie-Comeau Drakkar, collecting 170 points.
Tickets and packages for the 2026-27 season remain available through the Crunch office inside the Upstate Medical University Arena at Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse.
