ECHL: Adirondack Thunder Announce 2024 Season-Ending Roster

Rick LeBlanc/InsideTheRink

The Adirondack Thunder have officially released their 2024 Season-Ending Roster of 20 players following their announcement earlier this week that they were protecting 23 players. Each team is allowed to protect a maximum of 20 players and reserve the rights to eight players; no more than four can be veterans. The ECHL considers any player with 260 professional hockey games played prior to the 2024-25 season a veteran. The list does not include players on NHL or AHL Contracts.

The Roster

Mac Welsher, Shane Harper, Alex Young, Mike Gillespie, Andre Ghantous, Ryan Smith, Yanick Turcotte, Zach Walker, Travis Broughman, Tristan Ashbrook, Patrick Grasso.

Darian Skeoch, Ryan Wheeler, Brendan Less, Matt Stief, Connor Blake, Ryan Conroy, Jackson van de Leest, Scott Allan

Vinnie Purpura

Thoughts/Surprises As The Thunder Begin To Build For Next Season

As we enter the 2024 off-season, Head Coach/Head of Hockey Operations Pete MacArthur, along with Assistant Coach Mike Bergin, will certainly have some holes to fill. The biggest things on MacArthur and Bergin’s agenda should be filling the holes left by Patrick Grasso as he headed to Europe and considering the possibility of Shane Harper retiring. There’s no question that each of them brought a lot to the Thunder offensively. However, this isn’t as big of a hole as long as Adirondack can at least find a way to bring back Tristan Ashbrook for next year, as he led the team in goals last season.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how the Thunder fill out the blueline over the off-season. Last off-season, the Adirondack Thunder added the duo of Colin Felix and Will MacKinnon, who were one of the top pairs in the ECHL. Both of them spent the majority of the year up in the AHL with the Utica Comets, and that would leave some big shoes to fill. I expect Adirondack to bring back Darian Skeoch after the year had, including being named the interim Captain late in the season. One of the biggest questions is if the Thunder will look at bringing back Matt Stief; he had a great regular season but didn’t see much playing time during the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

In net, I think there’s no doubt that Vinnie Purpura has earned a spot on this team for next season, but the goaltending situation at all three levels of the New Jersey Devil’s organization is very crowded, especially with the Devils recently acquiring Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames. We also have to remember that Jeremy Brodeur was on an AHL deal last season with Utica; if he re-signs in Utica, I would expect the same as last year, with most of his time spent with the Thunder, who will also likely get Tyler Brennan back after he spent the entire year with Adirondack but was battling a lot of injuries. I expect us to have a clearer picture of what the goaltending will look like as we get closer to September and October.

insidetherink.com/join-us

Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Armand Klisivitch

Inside The Rink ECHL Manager | Senior Editor Credentialed Reporter for the Adirondack Thunder & Worcester Railers.

Leave a Reply

Darby Llewellyn vs Cincinnati Cyclones on 03/15/2025

ECHL: Darby Llewellyn Joins Toledo Walleye for 2025–26

The Toledo Walleye have added a veteran presence to their forward group, signing 29-year-old winger Darby Llewellyn for the 2025–26 ECHL season. With nearly a decade of pro hockey across North America and Europe, Llewellyn brings versatility, grit, and scoring depth to a Toledo lineup aiming to remain among the league’s toughest outs. A Proven […]

Read More

ECHL: Logan Nijhoff Re-Signs with Trois-Rivières Lions

The Trois-Rivières Lions are bringing back a big piece in their lineup as they’ve re-signed forward Logan Nijhoff for the 2025-26 season. Nijhoff, 24, put up 25 goals and 24 assists for 49 points in 58 games. Nijhoff was one of three players tied for the team lead in goals. He would add three goals […]

Read More

ECHL: Jordan Kaplan Returns To Worcester After Breakout Season

The Worcester Railers made a splash on Friday afternoon as they re-signed forward Jordan Kaplan for the 2025-26 season. Kaplan, 28, is coming off a career year where he put up 18 goals and 31 assists for 49 points in 68 games. He also finished second on the team with 108 PIM. Kaplan has established […]

Read More