The Idaho Steelheads have had a lot of important signings in August, as many key players are returning to Idaho for the upcoming ECHL season. These players include forwards Wade Murphy, Zane Franklin, Colton Kehler, captain A.J. White, and defensemen Matt Register, Ty Pelton-Byce, and Cody Haiskanen. A majority of them, if not all of them, had some pretty decent statistics from the 2022-23 ECHL season and potentially more.
These players probably have high expectations going into the upcoming 2023-24 ECHL season. But, considering how they’ve performed in their previous years, they’re very likely to continue their consistency. However, anything can happen, so it’ll be interesting to see the outcome at the end of the season.
Forwards
In the 2018-19 season, Wade Murphy played for the Kalamazoo Wings and Maine Mariners. Murphy played 23 games for the Wings, as he put up six goals and four assists for ten points. When he was with the Maine Mariners, he recorded three goals and eight assists for 11 points in 31 games. In the 2022-23 ECHL season, Wade obtained 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points in 54 games with the Steelheads.
Center Zane Franklin played for the Reading Royals before playing with Idaho. In 2022-23, Franklin recorded a goal and four assists for five points in just four games with the Royals. For the remainder of the season, with the Steelheads, he put up 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points in 55 games.
Forward Colton Kehler has played his whole ECHL career so far with the Idaho Steelheads. In the 2021-22 ECHL season, Colton Kehler obtained 17 goals and 19 assists for 36 points in 62 games with the Steelheads. The following year, in 2022-23, Kehler secured 14 goals and 11 assists for 25 points in 51 games.
Idaho Steelheads captain A.J. White will be returning for the upcoming ECHL season. White recorded 25 goals and 44 assists for 69 total points in 72 games in 2021-22 with Idaho. In the 2022-23 season, the forward put up 20 goals and 29 assists for 49 points in 70 games with the Steelheads. As the Idaho Steelheads made the 2023 ECHL Kelly Cup Playoffs, White recorded six goals and seven assists for 13 points in 20 games of the playoffs. Having a great player, captain, and overall person return to your team for another year is a huge advantage.
Defensemen
Defenseman Matt Register obtained an insane amount of points for a defenseman in the most recent ECHL regular season as well as the playoffs with the Steelheads. Matt secured nine goals and a whopping 43 assists for 52 points in 68 games in the 2022-23 regular season as well as one goal and 13 assists for 14 points in 15 games of the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs. He also performed great in the 2020-21 ECHL season with the Allen Americans, as he recorded five goals and 47 assists for 52 points in 66 games.
Ty Pelton-Byce played for the Newfoundland Growlers before playing for the Steelheads. In 2021-22, Pelton-Byce put up three goals and six assists for nine points in 17 games with Newfoundland. For the 2022-23 ECHL season with Idaho, he obtained 19 goals and 27 assists for 46 total points in just 43 games. That’s a lot of points for a defenseman.
6’4” defenseman Cody Haiskanen has only played one season his whole career in the East Coast Hockey League, and that was with the Steelheads in 2022-23. Haiskanen recorded five goals and 24 assists for 29 points in 61 games.
