Thunder Brings Back Top Three Scorers from Last Season

WICHITA, Kan. (July 14) – The Wichita Thunder, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's San Jose Sharks, AHL's San Jose Barracuda and powered by Toyota, announced today the signing of forwards Peter Bates, Jay Dickman and Michal Stinil for the 2025-26 season. 

The Thunder returns three of the top 10 scorers in the league from this past season. Bates and Stinil were voted to the 2024-25 All-ECHL First Team. All three amassed 70 points last year, which is the first time since the franchise joined the ECHL that three players hit that mark all in the same season. 

Bates, 28, was recently named as a finalist for the Wichita Professional Athlete of the Year Award. He is coming off the best season of his career. The Evanston, Illinois native set new career highs in goals (28), assists (50), points (78) and plus/minus (+32). Bates was named team MVP after finishing fourth in the league in points, sixth in assists and tied for sixth in plus/minus. 

The fourth year forward has piled up 173 points (76g, 97a) in 198 career ECHL games. Bates is seventh in franchise history with 17 game-winning goals. In 2023-24, Bates was selected to the Warrior ECHL All-Star Classic.

Dickman, 32, is also coming off the best season of his career. The St. Paul, Minnesota native set new highs in goals (30), assists (43), points (73) and was tied for second with 12 power play goals. He is at the top of several categories in franchise history, including fourth in goals (125), fourth in assists (185), third in points (310), third in games played (353) and tied for fourth with 41 power play goals.

A graduate of Bemidji State University, he hit several milestones last year. He reached 300 ECHL games (currently at 364), 300 ECHL points (currently at 314) and 100 ECHL goals. Dickman is closing in on 400 ECHL games and 200 ECHL assists (currently at 187). He will serve as the Player/Assistant Coach for a third season.

Stinil, 26, returns to Wichita for a fifth season. The Decin, Czechia native has established himself as one of the most creative players in the league. Last year, he recorded a career-high 52 helpers to go along with 25 goals and 77 points. Stinil also was a career-best +13, which helped him earn a selection to the 2024-25 ECHL Midseason All-Star Team.

Over the last four years, Stinil was one of just four players to record 30 or more goals in a season. The 5-foot-11, 194-pound forward hit that mark in back-to-back years, tallying 31 in 2022-23 and scoring 32 in 2023-24. He is in the top 10 in several categories in franchise history, including seventh in goals (101), fifth in assists (152), fifth in points (253) and ninth in games played (248).

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.