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Thunder Earns Two Nominations in 2024-25 Team Awards

Wednesday, June 4th
Thunder Earns Two Nominations in 2024-25 Team Awards

WICHITA, Kan. (June 4) – The Wichita Thunder, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's San Jose Sharks, AHL's San Jose Barracuda and powered by Toyota, are excited to announce that the team has been selected as a finalist in two categories for the 2024-25 Team Awards, presented by SponsorCX. 

Wichita earned a nomination for Ticket Sales Rookie of the Year, which goes to Sydney Tenant, and the Joe Babik Award (Media/PR Director of the Year), which goes to Jason Mals. 

The awards will be presented at the 2025 ECHL Hockey Summer Meetings in Orlando on Wednesday, June 25. 

Tenant joined the Thunder after a coaching stint at Bethel College. She recently earned her master's degree in Sports Management from the University of Kansas. She was instrumental in creating unique game experiences, including the first-ever Paint and Sip Event this past season. 

Prior to her time with the Thunder, Tenant played four years for the Bethel College basketball program from 2018-22 and joined the staff as an Assistant Coach from 2022-24. 

Mals earns his fifth nomination in this category. He helped coordinate several feature stories throughout the season. One of his favorite stories was the relationship between Jeremie Bucheler and Gabriel Carriere, who were college teammates that both signed contracts with the San Jose Barracuda prior to last year.

He also told the story of Kobe Walker, T.J. Lloyd and Assistant Coach Travis Clayton that stemmed from their time in junior hockey all the way to the professional level. 

Mals helped organize the granting of a Make-A-Wish for a young boy who received a trip to Disney World. The wish was revealed with the help of Thunderdog and Thunder emcee Avery Osen on Sunday, January 12.

He has been with the franchise since 2004-05. Mals earned the 2013 Central Hockey League Communications Director of the Year Award and was a recipient of the 2013-14 Central Hockey League Spirit Award, which was given to a member of the league who demonstrated enthusiasm, dedication and passion to their team and the game. 

Opening Night is set and on the calendar! Mark it down, we open our 2025-26 campaign against the Allen Americans on Saturday, October 18. Click HERE to read more and bring out a group.

Season tickets are now on sale for the 2025-26 season. Lock in your seats and catch all the high paced, hard-hitting action at INTRUST Bank Arena. Click HERE now to learn how you can get your seats reserved and start paying now.

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