On Tuesday June 15th, the ECHL’s Worcester Railers revealed their season-ending roster which consists of 20 different players. This is the second step of a three-step process to protect a player’s rights with the first of them being the protected list and then the third being qualifying offers.
Each ECHL team is allowed to put up to 20 players on the list and coach David Cunniff has had no problem filling up all 20 spots. The list ranges from longtime players such as centreman Barry Almeida, who has played in 192 games, to younger players like centreman Brent Beaudoin. Beaudoin played in only one game for Worcester after spending four seasons at Brown University.
The list is as follows:
Forwards (14): Barry Almeida, James Anderson, Brent Anderson, Brent Beaudoin, Drew Callin, Ross Olsson, Brennan Feasey, Michael Gillespie, Lincoln Griffin, Jake Marchment, Eddie Matsushima, Tyler Poulsen, Jordan Samuels-Thomas, Kyle Thomas and Shane Walsh.
Defensemen (5): Ivan Chukarov, Connor Doherty, Anthony Florentino, Myles McGurty and Jack Stander.
Goaltenders (1): Ian Milosz.
You may be wondering why players such as Nic Pierog, Mike Cornell and fan-favourite enforcer Yanick Turcotte are not on this list. This is because they are not signed by the Railers and are currently on AHL contracts.
Going forward this offseason, it will be interesting for the Railers as they look to rebound from a disappointing 21 win and 36 loss season. In the last 25 years of Worcester pro hockey, no team has been able to make it to the third round of the playoffs. It will be fascinating to see the Railers compete in a competitive ECHL North Division in 2020-21.