K-WINGS ACQUIRE SIX PLAYERS, FINALIZE FUTURES WITH FOUR TEAMS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

June 21, 2023

K-WINGS ACQUIRE SIX PLAYERS, FINALIZE FUTURES WITH FOUR TEAMS

Kalamazoo completes 2023 Trade Deadline deals with Florida, Jacksonville, South Carolina and Wichita.

KALAMAZOO, MI – The Kalamazoo Wings, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets, finalized six future acquisitions trades from the 2022-23 season Wednesday.

NEW ADDITIONS:

Forwards: Kody McDonald (Florida), Luke Lynch (Jacksonville), Ted Nichol (Florida)

Defensemen: Nolan Kneen (Florida), Chaz Reddekopp (South Carolina),  Connor Walters (Wichita)

About Acquisitions:

FORWARDS

Kody Mcdonald, 25, completes the future trade agreement with the Florida Everblades for the rights to forward Tyler Irvine. The 6-foot 1-inch, Lethbridge, Alberta native is heading into his third professional season and played 56 games combined for the Everblades over the past two seasons. McDonald tallied three goals and three assists with 82 penalty minutes in 27 games played in 2022-23, and spent parts of six seasons in the WHL with Prince George, Prince Albert & Victoria (323 GP, 95g, 103a, 556 PIM). McDonald also played one season at Carleton Univerity in 2019-20.

Luke Lynch, 27, completes the future trade agreement with the Jacksonville Icemen for the rights to forward Matheson Iacopelli. The 5-foot 11-inch, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania native is heading into his third professional season and played 127 games combined with the Icemen over the past two campaigns. Last season, Lynch notched 47 points (17g, 30a, 108 PIM), and recorded 10 points (2g, 8a) in 12 Kelly Cup playoff games with Jacksonville. Before starting his professional career, Lynch played four seasons with Robert Morris University, scoring 105 points (41g, 64a, 179 PIM) in 155 games played. The forward was also named team captain of the Colonials for his senior season in 2019-20. Lynch also suited up four times with the Wheeling Nailers in 2020-21. 

Ted Nichol, 26, rookie, completes one-half of the future trade agreement with the Florida Everblades for the rights to forward Logan Lambdin. The 5-foot 11-inch, Listowel, Ontario native played 15 games (1g, 2a, 4 PIM) with the Everblades in 2022-23. Prior to signing with Florida, Nichol played 76 games across four seasons with the University of Guelph (16g, 25a, 85 PIM), winning the OUA championship in 2019-20. Nichol also played parts of five seasons with Kingston (OHL), scoring 93 points (31g, 62a, 109 PIM) and was named team captain for the 2017-18 season. 

DEFENSEMEN

Nolan Kneen, 24, completes the second half of the future trade agreement with the Florida Everblades for the rights to forward Logan Lambdin. The 6-foot, Kelowna, British Columbia native is heading into his fourth professional season after playing 60 games (5g, 8a, 69 PIM) for the Everblades last season. Kneen played the previous two seasons with the Allen Americans (56 GP, 8g, 18a, 67 PIM), and saw the ice in 18 games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers (1g, 5a, 13 PIM) in 2021-22. Before his professional career, Kneen played parts of six seasons in the WHL with Kamloops and Saskatoon from 2014-2020 (310 GP, 28g, 111a, 281 PIM), earning the alternate captain role in his final two seasons with the Blades. 

Chaz Reddekopp, 26, completes the future trade agreement with the South Carolina Stingrays for the rights to forward Max Humitz. The 6-foot 3-inch, 191-pound, West Kelowna, British Columbia native is heading into his sixth professional season and played 51 games (1g, 13a, 9 PIM) for the Stingrays last season. In 2022-23, the defenseman amassed a career-high in points with 14 and games played. Reddekopp has also played 92 games in the AHL with four teams (Ontario, San Jose, Belleville, Tucson) in his career, along with making stops in Manchester, Fort Wayne, Allen, and Orlando. Prior to his professional career, the defenseman played in the WHL for Victoria (280 GP, 27g, 107a, 293 PIM) throughout parts of six seasons from 2013-2018, earning him a 5th-Round selection in the 2015 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. Last season, Reddekopp won the ECHL Community Service Award for his efforts in the North Charleston area.

Connor Walters, 26, completes the futures trade agreement with the Wichita Thunder for the rights to forward Brett Boeing (via defenseman Ryan Cook trade). The 6-foot 1-inch, 205-pound, Welland, Ontario native is entering his third professional season after playing for Toledo and Wichita in 2021-22, followed by returning to the Thunder in 2022-23 (63 GP, 1g, 14a, 28 PIM). Walters’ junior career is comprised of parts of five seasons in the OHL with Owen Sound and Hamilton (260 GP, 10g, 83a, 85 PIM) from 2013-2018 (won OHL championship with Hamilton in 2017), followed by two seasons with Brock University from 2018-2020. Last season, Walters won the Wichita Thunder Community Service Award. 

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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 the 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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