ORLANDO, Fla. — Last time, we got up to date on the player transactions for the Columbus Cottonmouths, Fayetteville FireAntz and Huntsville Havoc. This time, we will finish our look at the summer signing season in Knoxville, Richmond and Twin City.
Knoxville Ice Bears: Head Coach Scott Hillman has the pleasure of restocking the defending SPHL champions and so far things are going well. Several members of last year’s squad have resigned for another tour and a shot at back-to-back titles.
The first of the returnees to sign was forward Bobby Joe Pelkey. Pelkey, who came to Knoxville from Odessa in the CHL where he played with Hillman, scored 26 goals and had 23 assists in 60 regular season games. His biggest contribution may have been as part of the penalty killing unit for the Ice Bears – a unit that successfully killed 38 of 39 penalties in the playoffs. He is joined up front by Mike Carter, who tallied 44 points in 50 games for Knoxville last season while showing plenty of speed and heart. Sniper Tim Vitek, who split his time between the Ice Bears and New Mexico in the CHL, is back for another run as a possible winger for center Kevin Swider. In 20 contests last season, he posted 20 goals and 32 assists before adding ten more in the playoffs.
Back at the blue line, Kevin Harris and Jason Lepine are both returning to Knoxville for another campaign. Harris posted 35 points last season but more importantly led the SPHL with a plus/minus rating of plus-32. Lepine was hampered by an early season injury but contributed 14 points in 24 games and added six more in the post season.
Several new faces will be with the Ice Bears in camp. Goaltender Andrew Gallant, who won several awards while at NCAA Division III Manhattanville College, comes to Knoxville after spending some pro time with Arizona of the CHL and Elmira in the ECHL. Rookie defensemen Sean Cryer (Div. 3 West Neumann College) and Dana Thibault (Div. 3 Norwich University) are expected to add depth to the defensive corps. Forward Jon Foster brings experience in both the CHL and ECHL as well as skills that earned him an invitation to the Wilkes-Barrie / Scranton Penguins AHL camp. The best known new member may be forward Chris Rebernik, who has played with multiple SPHL teams including Jacksonville last season.
Richmond Renegades: Head Coach Brian Goudie and President/G.M. Allan B. Harvie Jr. have never been ones to stand pat. If they feel like the roster needs a change, they will not hesitate to make a move.
Signing returning players has been a major priority in Richmond. The first player to re-up was SPHL Defenseman of the Year and team captain Dan Vandermeer. Vandermeer had 70 points in 52 games, good enough to make him the SPHL 5th overall leading scorer. His plus-23 rating was the third best in the league. Also back on the blue line for another season is RC Lyke. Lyke, who was the team’s player / assistant coach, didn’t put up big numbers but was a steadying force on defense.
Up front, forwards Justin Joy, Brett Needham and Trevor Karasiewicz are all set to once again wear a Renegades’ jersey. Joy had 32 points in his rookie season last year and was a solid addition to the roster. Needham, who has been with the Renegades since the team’s rebirth in 2006, put up 30 points and was a plus-2 last season. Karasiewicz, who came to Richmond in a trade from Huntsville, rang up 29 points in 28 games and became a vital part of the Renegades’ special teams.
Ryan Senft, who backstopped Richmond during its SPHL-record 12 game winning streak, has also resigned to return in net. Senft led the league in minutes played (2,011) while putting up a 18-14-1 regular season record with 3.13 goals against average.
New faces in Richmond begin with veteran forward Tom Kotsopoulos. Kotsopoulos brings experience from stints in the UHL, CHL, ECHL and WHA2 over the last several seasons. He will fill the third and final veteran spot on the Renegades’ roster, joining Vandermeer and Lyke as players with more than 224 pro games played.
Richmond also acquired three additional players via a three team trade. The first leg of the deal brought defenseman Josef Kubaliak over from Twin City. Kubaliak had seven points and 186 penalty minutes for the Cyclones last year. Two days later, Richmond made a second trade, acquiring forwards Beau McLaughlin and Kyle Sheen from Huntsville. McLaughlin had 34 points in 36 games for the Havoc a year ago and has playing time in both the ECHL and CHL on his resume. Sheen, who had 44 points in 50 games last season, is no stranger to Richmond. He played 41 games during the 2004-2005 season for the Richmond Riverdogs in the UHL.
Twin City Cyclones: G.M./Head Coach Mark Richards is patiently building his roster for the coming season.
The first player signing was a very significant one as captain Allan Sirois will be back in a Cyclones’ uniform for another season. Sirois, who is widely acknowledged as the heart and soul of the team, posted 59 points in 52 games last season.
Richard then got busy and made a deal with the Richmond Renegades. The Cyclones were able to fill a need with the trade as they acquired centers Donald Melnyk and Ryan Webb.
A two year player for the Renegades, Melnyk scored 78 points in 97 games over that time. He also spent some time in the CHL with Laredo. Webb, whose rights were acquired by Richmond in the Jacksonville dispersal draft, made a name for himself with the Barracudas. In three seasons there, he showed a nose for the net with 203 points in just 141 games played.
Unfortunately for the Cyclones, within the last 24 hours, Melnyk informed them that he was heading for Wichita and the CHL.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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