Wichita, KS (June 15th) - The Wichita Thunder, proud member of the ECHL and powered by Toyota, announced the team's season-ending roster today, which includes 12 forwards, five defensemen and three goaltenders.
Forwards (12): Christian Isackson, Miles Koules, Andy Huff, Ian Lowe, Kale Kerbashian, Paxton Leroux, Logan Nelson, Kenton Miller, Domenic Alberga, Dean Chelios, Peter Sakaris and Scott Brannon.
Defensemen (5): Landon Oslanski, Dan Milan, Dalton Reum, Martin Nemcik and Eric Springer.
Goaltenders (3): Sean Bonar, David Shantz and Grant Rollheiser.
Season-Ending Rosters may include up to 20 players. Season-Ending Rosters cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract in 2015-16.
Each team is entitled to reserve rights to a maximum of eight players from the list of 20 by extending a qualifying offer no later than July 1. Of the eight qualified players, no more than four can be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the 2016-17 season). Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded. Teams are not required to extend a qualifying offer to players who sign a contract prior to July 1.
The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until Aug. 1 at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action. Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a non-veteran player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season.
A team that extends a valid qualifying offer to a veteran player, or to a goaltender who has played more than 180 regular-season games, will retain the rights to that player until Aug. 1. After Aug. 1, if the veteran player or goaltender is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran or goaltender shall be deemed a restricted free agent and shall be entitled to seek and secure offers of employment from other ECHL teams.
Restricted free agents may not be traded. When a restricted free agent receives a contract offer from a team other than the team with the player's rights and the restricted free agent wishes to accept the contract offer, the restricted free agent and the offering member must, within 24 hours, notify the ECHL, the team with the player's rights and the Professional Hockey Players' Association. The member with the player's rights shall have seven days after the date it is notified to exercise its right to match the contract offer.
If a restricted free agent is not signed to either an offer sheet or a contract by an ECHL team by Aug. 31, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent.
The Thunder kicks off their 25th Anniversary season on Saturday, October 15th against the Tulsa Oilers. Season tickets are on sale now. Put down your $50 deposit per seat and pay it off all summer long. Contact a Thunder representative at the office today.
Follow along with us on our social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter (@wichita_thunder), Snapchat (wichthunder), Instagram (Wichita_Thunder) and LinkedIn, presented by Wichita Brewing Company.
About the ECHLThe ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 28 teams in 20 states and one Canadian province for its 29th season in 2016-17. There have been over 500 players who have started their career in the ECHL have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, including 29 who made their NHL debuts in the 2013-14 season. The ECHL had affiliations with 26 of the 30 NHL teams in 2013-14, marking the 17th consecutive season that the league had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.
-Thunder-