Fighting Saints Announce 2024-25 Opening Night Roster
September 18, 2024 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Dubuque Fighting Saints News Release
DUBUQUE, IA - The Dubuque Fighting Saints have announced their 25-man roster to open the USHL regular season in 2024-25.
NHL drafted players highlight the Opening Night roster as five Dubuque players have been selected by NHL clubs. Cole Spicer (2022, R4, P117), Kristian Kostadinski (2023, R7, P220) and Jonathan Morello (2024, R5, P154) are all selections by the Boston Bruins. Heikki Ruohonen was drafted in 2024 by the Philadelphia Flyers with the 107th overall pick in the 4th round, while Lucas Van Vliet was picked by the Vegas Golden Knights this summer in the 7th round (Pick 197).
Dubuque also has 20 of its 25 active players already committed to play Division I hockey. Dubuque native Ritter Coombs (IR) is also pledged to Providence College. Three Saints are committed to skate for the Michigan State Spartans with Van Vliet, Dryden Allen and Cullen McCrate all heading to East Lansing.
In addition to those committed to play at the Division I level, the roster also includes two players with Division I experience. Forward Cole Spicer played at the University of Minnesota-Duluth for the past two seasons, while defenseman Josh Niedermayer skated for the Arizona State Sun Devils last season.
"We are very excited about our team this year," said head coach Evan Dixon. "The players have done a great job upholding our standard and have bought into the process of building winning habits. We believe in this group and are excited as a staff to continue to watch them grow together."
The Saints' final roster includes 15 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders. Of the 25 players, 17 have played at least a game at the USHL level and 13 have played a full season in the league.
"The competition level in camp has been outstanding again this year," said general manager Trevor Edwards. "Our returning core, veteran additions and our younger, talented additions have all come in ready to work hard and compete everyday for each other."
Overall, four countries (USA, Canada, Sweden, Finland) and 12 states (AZ, CA, IA, IL, MA, MI, MN, ND, NJ, NY, PA, TX) are represented on Dubuque's roster.
Of the 26 total players with the team, 23 were drafted by the Fighting Saints. Two of those are returning players Michael Barron and Gavin Cornforth. Barron amassed 35 points last season (15-20-35) on his way to being named to the USHL All-Rookie 2nd team. Gavin Cornforth brings 111 USHL games of experience back into the Saints 2024-25 lineup after recording a career-high 32 points last season.
In total, the nine returning skaters for Dubuque scored 76 total goals and 183 points last season. Additionally, the Saints roster features two former USA NTDP players (Lucas Van Vliet and Cole Spicer) as well as two World Junior Summer Showcase players (Heikki Ruohonen - FIN and Kristian Kostadinski - SWE). The Fighting Saints roster also features seven graduates from the Dubuque Affiliate List.
The official roster is as follows:
Forwards (15): Charlie Arend; Michael Barron; Gavin Cornforth; Cooper Dennis; Melvin Ekman; Colin Frank; Josh Giuliani; Gavin Lock; Teddy Merrill; Jonathan Morello; Torkel Jennersjö; Nick Romeo; Heikki Ruohonen; Cole Spicer; Lucas Van Vliet
Defensemen (8): Dryden Allen; Sean Barnhill; Matthew Desiderio; Kristian Kostadinski; Ryan Kroll; Luke Malboeuf; Cullen McCrate; Josh Niedermayer
Goaltenders (2): Liam Beerman; Dylan Johnson
Injured Reserve (1): Ritter Coombs
"Head coach Evan Dixon and the staff have done a great job dialing in their day-to-day habits and I'm excited to get the regular season underway this week," Edwards said.
Keep tabs on all Saints news by checking the website at dubuquefightingsaints.com or following the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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