The Adirondack Thunder added two players this off-season who spent time with the Cincinnati Cyclones, and one of them is rookie forward Keanan Stewart, who spent 16 games with the Cyclones at the end of last season, where he put up a goal and three assists. Coming into the 2024-25 season, Adirondack has a handful of guys who are entering their first full year of ECHL experience but were able to get a small sample size of the ECHL prior to coming into the 2024-25 season.
“It’s really important, the speeds a little bit faster everybody’s a little bigger and strong so being able to play out of college is a big advantage because you come into the next year with a little more confidence and belief in your game and being able to play at that level.”
-Stewart on the importance of being able to play a few games at the ECHL level last year before entering his first full season the league
Prior to joining the Cyclones at the end of last season, the Guelph, Ontario native spent two years at the OJHL level with the Burlington Cougars, where he 50 goals and 52 assists for 102 points in 102 games, including leading the Cougars in goals during the 2019-20 season where he had 30 goals and added 22 assists for 52 points in 54 games while also finishing second in PIM (94). The 24-year-old forward would then take the NCAA route, where he would spend four seasons at Mercyhurst University, where he put up 18 goals and 11 assists for 29 points in 85 games and picked up 10 of those goals in his final year with the Lakers.
“It was good to get to that next level out of Junior and just be able to play less games and get in the gym a lot and try and build up my body to play at the pro level”
-Stewart on his fours years at Mercyhurst University
When coming into a new team, there may be guys you played with when you were a kid or in college, but for Stewart, Patrick Polino, who was acquired by the Thunder in the trade for Tristan Ashbrook, was the only familiar face for Stewart when he first entered the Adirondack Thunder locker room. Polino is coming off back-to-back 20+ goal seasons with the Cyclones.
“He’s the only guy I actually knew out of everybody, so coming into Utica camp and having him by my side was huge, and coming to Adirondack, he’s a really good guy to ask questions and learn from on the ice is huge.”
-Stewart on having a familar face in Patrick Polino in the Thunder locker room
Stewart decided to sign with the Thunder this season for a few reasons, including the opportunity that he would be given by Head Coach Pete MacArthur and the winning culture in Adirondack. The Guelph, Ontario native has played in nine games this season and picked up his first point of the season in last Sunday’s game vs South Carolina Stingrays.
“Just the opportunity that Pete presented for me and the winning culture here, It’s also a beautiful place, it’s great living and like I said there a really good team and I wanna help them win a championship.”
-Stewart on his decision to come to Adirondack
