ECHL Atlanta Gladiators

Gladiators Extend Qualifying Offers to Eight Players

July 2, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release


The Gwinnett Gladiators announced today the list of eight players that received qualifying offers for the 2008-09 season. By qualifying these players, the Gladiators now own the ECHL rights to them for the entire 2008-09 season.

Each team was entitled to reserve rights to a maximum of eight (8) Qualified Players. Of these eight (8) Qualified Players, no more than four (4) of the Qualified Players shall be Veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the upcoming 2008-09 season).

The Gladiators qualified the following eight players; Brad Schell, Lou Dickenson, Craig Kowalski, Jamie Milam, Jeff Mason, Jim Jackson, Jon Sitko and Jeff Campbell.

Schell was named the ECHL MVP during the 2006-07 season while leading the ECHL in scoring with 110 points with the Gladiators in 63 games. Schell notched 8 goals and 30 assists for the Gladiators in just 29 games last season. He joined Gwinnett midway through the season after recovering from an injury.

Dickenson finished second in scoring on the Gladiators last season with 62 points. His 28 goals were good for first last year on the Gladiators. The Orleans, Ontario native was twice called up to the AHL last season spending time with both the Hershey Bears and the Manitoba Moose.

Kowalski tied a career high for most wins in a season posting 29 with the Gladiators last year. He continued to improve on his ECHL career goaltending numbers increasing his save percentage to .923 while lowering his goals against average to 2.33. The Clinton Township, Michigan native finished with a 29-11-2 record and two shutouts for the Gladiators.

Milam finished ranked first in scoring among Gwinnett blueliners last year with 47 points off of 13 goals and 41 assists while appearing in all 72 games last year for Gwinnett. Milam represented the Gladiators in the 2008 ECHL All Star Game in Stockton, California.

Mason notched 5 goals and 15 assists for the Gladiators for 20 points in 70 games last season for Gwinnett. The Defenseman also recorded 4 goals and 2 assists for 6 points in 8 Kelly Cup Playoff Games to lead Gwinnett blueliners in scoring in the post season.

Jackson, the all time games played leader in Gwinnett history appearing in 226 career Gladiators games, notched 10 goals and 4 assists for 14 points in 27 games with Gwinnett last year. Jackson spent time in the American Hockey League appearing in a combined 24 games with the Manitoba Moose and the Peoria Rivermen. He collected a goal and recorded 5 assists for 6 points in the AHL.

In his second season with the Gladiators, Sitko appeared in 36 games with the Gladiators. He finished the 2007-08 season with 2 assists and 35 penalty minutes.

Campbell was named the ECHL sportsman of the year last year as he led Gwinnett in scoring with 91 points as he set a new career best for points in a season. Campbell was also named ECHL MVP while with the Gladiators during the 2005-06 season posting 83 points and helping the Gladiators capture the American Conference Title and a berth in the Kelly Cup Finals.

Players will have until August 1 to accept a qualifying offer. Players on open Qualifying Offers cannot be traded. Teams were not required to protect players who signed a Standard Players Contract prior to July 1. Teams are not allowed to sign more than 24 players to contracts during the summer.

The Gladiators open the 2008-09 season in October of 2008. Season tickets for the 2008-09 season are on sale now. Log on to gwinnettgladiators.com or call the Gladiators office at 770-497-5100 for more information.

Began in 1988-89 with five teams playing in four states, the Premier ‘AA' Hockey League has grown into a coast-to-coast league that will have 23 teams in 16 states and British Columbia playing 828 games from Oct. 17, 2008 to Apr. 4, 2009. Eighteen of the 23 teams have played at least five years in their current city.

The third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League, the ECHL averaged 4,174 per game last season, marking the fourth year in row and the 16th time in the last 18 years that the league has averaged over 4,000 fans. The league has drawn over four million fans each of the last five years and 11 times in the past 12 seasons.

There have been 355 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including 99 in the last three seasons. There have been 210 former ECHL players who have played their first game in the NHL in the past seven season.

The Gwinnett Gladiators open their sixth season as a proud member of the ECHL in October of 2008 - season ticket packages are on sale now. In addition, the Gladiators offer several unique multi-game ticket packages as well as discounted group rates, suite rentals, and birthday parties. For more information call 770-497-5100 or log on to gwinnettgladiators.com.

The Gladiators are the AA affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers and play all home games at the spectacular 11,355-seat Arena at Gwinnett Center, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, where parking is always free.

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