ECHL: Adirondack Thunder Send Brendan Less To Atlanta

Mark Bolton/InsideTheRink

The Adirondack Thunder have traded forward Brendan Less to the Atlanta Gladiators in exchange for forwards Easton Armstrong and Nick Wong. This is the second trade between the two teams in the last six months, as Adirondack sent Ryan Francis and Alex Young to Atlanta at the trade deadline.

What This Means for Adirondack

The Thunder continue to bolster their forward group by adding two young forwards to their roster. Armstrong, 22, just finished his rookie season, where he put up eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points in 51 games last season. Prior to going pro, the Redondo Beach, California, native spent five seasons in the WHL, where he put up 60 goals and 39 assists for 99 points in 210 games. He broke out for 28 goals in 58 games during his final season in the WHL, so it will be interesting to see if he can find that scoring touch again in Adirondack.

Wong, 23, would finish the end of the season with Atlanta, where he had one goal in 10 games after finishing his final season at the University of Toronto. During his three years at the University of Toronto, he put up 25 goals and 46 assists for 71 points in 74 games. Prior to playing in USports, he spent five seasons in the OHL, where he had 68 goals and 54 assists for 122 points in 255 games. There’s no doubt the Erin, Ontario, native showed some promise in USports, and it will be interesting to see how he does in his first full season in the ECHL.

Brendan Less To Atlanta

Less, 27, will join his fourth ECHL team after spending the last two seasons with the Adirondack Thunder. In 123 games in the league, the Kinnelon, NJ, native has put up three goals and 35 assists for 38 points while spending time with the Thunder, Iowa Heartlanders, and Worcester Railers. There’s a lot to like about this deal if you’re a Gladiators fan. Less was a solid piece to the Thunder blueline and was a player who could produce offensively, but has been limited due to injuries over the last few seasons. He was also a guy who ate up big minutes for the Thunder. I would expect him to be a key piece for the Gladiators next year on the blueline.

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Armand Klisivitch

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

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