K-WINGS CONFIRM SEASON-ENDING ROSTER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 16, 2022

K-WINGS CONFIRM SEASON-ENDING ROSTER

Kalamazoo protects 20 players and can extend up to eight qualifying offers by June 30.

KALAMAZOO, MI –The Kalamazoo Wings, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets, announced the club’s season-ending roster submission to the league office on Thursday.

The Season-Ending Roster narrows Kalamazoo’s Protect List, announced on June 2, from 28 to 20 players. 

Season-Ending Rosters cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract in 2021-22, and each team is entitled to reserve rights to a maximum of eight players from the list of 20 by extending a qualifying offer no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on June 30. 

Of the eight qualified players, no more than four can be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the 2022-23 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 June 30.

Kalamazoo’s Season-Ending Roster includes two goaltenders, eight defensemen and 10 forwards. 

Kalamazoo Wings 2021-22 Season-Ending Roster

Goaltenders (2): Trevor Gorsuch & Jake Kielly

Defensemen (8):  Jeremy Masella, Ryan Cook, Tyler Rockwell, Cody Corbett, Justin Murray, Brenden Miller, Collin Saccoman and Michael Davies

Forwards (10): Tanner Nagel, Erik Bradford, Anthony Collins, Tanner Sorenson, Justin Taylor, Max Humitz, Matt Iacopelli, Kyle Blaney, Logan Lambdin and Raymond Brice

Qualifying offers to players must remain open for acceptance until 11:59 p.m. ET on July 16 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 11:59 p.m. ET on July 16. After July 16, 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 11:59 p.m. ET on August 1, 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 Columbus Blue Jackets and American Hockey League’s Cleveland Monsters. Kalamazoo plays their 36 regular season home games at Wings Event Center from October through April.

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