On Monday June 15th, the Atlanta Gladiators submitted their season-ending roster to the ECHL. Free agency officially begins on Tuesday June 16th and with just 13 players officially ending the 2019/20 season, the Glads have plenty of room to add to their squad.
ECHL rules allow teams to sign up to eight players during free agency and the roster is limited to 20 spots. The Gladiators have seven spaces to fill, so expect a busy offseason in Duluth for head coach and general manager Jeff Pyle.
Atlanta made progress through the 2019/20 season, thanks in part to the core of two-way skaters that have been present throughout Coach Pyle’s latest stint with the team. The likes of Derek Nesbitt, Nick Bligh and Zach Malatesta have been named on the season-ending roster which gives the team a solid foundation to build on.
As is often the case at this time of year, a number of players usually move on. Last season’s top-scorer, Eric Neiley, has signed with Gyergyói HK of the Erste Liga. As well, defensemen Alexey Solovyev is heading to the Avangard Omsk of the KHL, this leaving two big holes for Atlanta to fill.
The season-ending roster is as follows:
FORWARDS (7): Luke Nogard, Nick Bligh, Derek Nesbitt, Eric Neiley, Avery Peterson, Anthony Collins and Logan Nelson.
DEFENSEMEN (5): Greg Campbell, Zachary Malatesta, Josh Thrower, Chris Forney and Robbie Hall.
GOALTENDERS (1): Sean Bonar.