Gladiators Release Season-Ending Roster
June 16, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Atlanta Gladiators News Release
The Gwinnett Gladiators announced today the team's season-ending roster. By ECHL rule, teams are allowed a maximum of 20 players on the season-ending roster of which a maximum of eight players may be protected if they receive a qualifying offer by July 1, 2009.
After Andy Brant completed the future consideration trade for Josh Johnson, the Gladiators season-ending roster includes 17 players: Jeff Mason, Jeff Dunne, Josh Engel, Bryson Busniuk, Tom Zanoski, Scott Marchesi, Pat Bateman, Brad Schell, Brandon Kaleniecki, Dirk Southern, Phil Youngclaus, Jordan Fox, Mike Looby, Dan Sullivan, Josh Johnson, Travis Fuller and Chris Cava.
Season-ending rosters may include up to 20 players. Season-ending rosters cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract in 2008-09 (i.e. players who were under contract to teams in either the National Hockey League or the American Hockey League). 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 July 1. 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 2009-10 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 July 1. The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until August 1 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 will retain the rights to that veteran until August 1. After August 1, if the veteran player is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran 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 August 31, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent.
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 is 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.
The Gwinnett Gladiators open their 7th season in the ECHL in October of 2009 - season ticket packages for the 2009-10 season 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 Chicago Blackhawks 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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