ECHL: Jacksonville Icemen Re-Sign Key Blueliner

After signing only a few players in the past couple of weeks, the Jacksonville Icemen have added another roster player to the team for the upcoming 2023-24 season. Veteran defenseman Jacob Panetta has inked a one year deal, returning to the Jacksonville Icemen roster for his fourth professional season. The Belleville, Ontario native first joined the team during the 2020-21 season after completing four years at Colgate University. Panetta’s appeared in 107 regular season games for the Icemen, collecting 46 points over the course of three seasons. He’s also played in 20 playoff games while with the team, most recently registering one goal and one assist during the 2022-23 Kelly Cup Playoffs. During the 2022-23 season Panetta set a new career high with nine goals, picking up a total of 22 points through 56 games.

He is the fourth player to agree to terms with the Icemen for the 2023-24 season. Recent re-signings have included forwards Matheson Iacopelli and Chris Grando, and fellow blueliner Julian Kislin. All four of the recent re-additions to the Icemen line-up were players on the Icemen’s protected list, though it is of note that the Icemen have yet to sign any of the eight players that were extended a qualifying offer. Each qualifying offer must remain available until July 22nd. Panetta’s return to the Jacksonville defense core falls on the heels of the team’s recent announcement that they’ve joined forces with the Buffalo Sabres organization to serve as the team’s ECHL affiliate.