FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 9, 2021
K-WINGS SUBMIT SEASON-ENDING ROSTER
Kalamazoo mirrors 18-man Protected List for 2020-21 final roster and can extend up to eight qualifying offers by July 23.
KALAMAZOO, MI – The Kalamazoo Wings, proud member of the ECHL, finalized its 2020-21 season-ending roster by Thursday’s league deadline, the team announced Friday.
The roster mirrors Kalamazoo’s Protect List, which was announced last week. It consists of 18 players, including one goaltender, six defensemen and 11 forwards.
Kalamazoo Wings 2020-21 Season-Ending Roster
Goaltenders (1): Jake Hildebrand
Defensemen (6): Nick Bruneteau, Michael Davies, Ian Edmondson, Eric Kattelus, Kyle Rhodes, Matt VanVoorhis
Forwards (11): Bryan Basilico, Greg Betzold, Kyle Blaney, Mitch Hults, Matheson Iacopelli, Justin Kovacs, Logan Lambdin, Mathieu Roy, Tanner Sorenson, Justin Taylor, Brady Vail
While Protected Lists could include more than 20 players, Season-Ending Rosters are capped at 20 and must only include players who signed ECHL contracts in 2020-21. Teams now have until July 23 to extend up to eight Qualifying Offers to players on their Season-Ending Rosters.
Of the eight qualified players, no more than four can be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played at of the start of the 2021-22 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 23.
The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until August 9 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 August 9. After August 9, 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 August 16, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent.
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The Kalamazoo Wings are a professional hockey team located in southwest Michigan that has been a staple in the Kalamazoo, MI professional sports landscape since 1974. The K-Wings compete in the ECHL and are the AA affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks. Kalamazoo plays their 36 regular season home games at Wings Event Center from October through April.
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