The Tahoe Knight Monsters have officially announced their 2024-25 Season Opening roster prior to opening night on October 24th vs Jacksonville Icemen. Tahoe was one of the teams that originally stacked up on try-out agreements before beginning training camp, as they invited eight players to camp either on an ATO (Amateur Try-Out) or a PTO (Professional Try-Out). However, Adam Pitters was the only player offered a contract by the team. Pitters spent five years at the NCAA level, where he put up 11 goals and 22 assists for 33 points in 133 games before putting up two goals and eight assists in 10 games in the 13 games at the SPHL level with the Fayetteville Marksmen.
The Roster
Adam Pitters (F)
Troy Loggins (F)
Bears Hughes (F)
Simon Pinard (F)
Jacob McGrew (F)
Adam Robbins (F)
Sloan Stanick (F)
Cal Kiefiuk (F)
Logan Nelson (F)
Anthony Collins (F)
Chris Dodero (F)
Brandon Tabakin (D)
Elijah Vilio (D)
Ryan Orgel (D)
Jake Johnson (D)
Nate Kallen (D)
Samuel Mayer (D)
Artur Cholach (D)
Brennan Kapcheck (D)
Jordan Papirny (G)
Isaiah Saville (G)
Reserves/IR
Luke Adam (F) (Reserve)—The 34-year-old winger will begin the season as one of the odd-men out. There’s no doubt that Adams will get his opportunity with the Knight Monsters, but right now, he will take a back seat, with Henderson sending down three forwards to help out in Tahoe. Adam had spent the last eight seasons overseas, including seven years in Germany, before spending last year in Czechia and Slovakia.
Patrick Newell (F)- Newell made his return to North America last season after spending two years overseas but would play in just 18 games with the Orlando Solar Bears before heading back overseas to finish the season in Slovakia, where he put up three goals and seven assists for 10 points in 16 games.
Blake Christensen (3-Day IR) (F)- The 29-year-old forward will begin the season on the 3-Day IR for the Knight Monsters to begin the season. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, especially with the fact that he didn’t play at all last season. Christensen has spent three seasons in the ECHL, where he’s put up 26 goals and 25 assists for 51 points in 71 games, with his last appearance coming with the Worcester Railers during the 2022-23 season. He is eligible to play in the Knight Monster’s first game, but I would be surprised if he were in the lineup.
Help From Henderson
The Knight Monsters, as expected, will be getting a lot of help from the Henderson Silver Knights, starting with goaltending. Jordan Papirny and Isaiah Saville will start the season as the tandem in Tahoe, giving the Knight Monsters a very strong tandem. Saville and Papirny saw time last season with the Savannah Ghost Pirates and are no strangers to ECHL play, and I would expect this to be one of the bigger strengths for Tahoe out of the gate.
On the blue line, the Knight Monsters would get Samuel Mayer and Artur Cholach. Mayer,21, is entering his first year of pro hockey after spending the last three seasons in the OHL, where he put up 41 goals and 97 assists for 138 points in 205 games as a member of the Peterborough Petes and Ottawa 67’s. He would win an OHL Championship with the Petes in 2023 and put up a goal and an assist in five games during the 2023 Memorial Cup. Cholach,21, was drafted by the Vegas Golden Knights in the sixth round of the 2021 NHL Draft and will make his professional debut this season with Tahoe. The Ukrainian defenseman spent last season in the USHL with the Sioux Falls Stampede, where he had four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 54 games. He spent the previous two seasons in the OHL with the Barrie Colts, where he put up four goals and 30 assists for 34 points in 116 games.
The Knight Monsters would get two big pieces offensively from Henderson in Bear Hughes and Simon Pinard. Hughes is coming off an injury-shortened season, which saw him play in just six total games last season, five of which came in Savannah, where he put up two goals and two assists for four points. The 23-year-old center had a fantastic rookie year with the South Carolina Stingrays, where he put up 23 goals and 36 assists for 59 points in 66 games while also being named to the ECHL All-Star team in 2023. Pinard,23, is another guy who has proven he can score in the ECHL, as he put up 24 goals and 24 assists for 48 points in 59 games last season with the Ghost Pirates. The final forward from Henderson, who will be joining Tahoe, is Sloan Stanick, who was on a try-out agreement with Henderson before being sent down. The 21-year-old forward has spent parts of the last five years in the WHL with the Prince Albert Raiders, putting up 86 goals and 121 assists for 207 points in 274 games, including back-to-back 30-goal seasons over the past two years.
