ECHL: Adirondack Thunder Announce 2025-26 Season-Ending Roster

Rules and Eligibility

Season-Ending Rosters may include up to 20 players. Season-Ending Rosters cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract in 2025-26.

Each team is entitled to reserve rights to a maximum of eight players from the list of 20 by extending a qualifying offer no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on July 7. Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded. Teams are not required to extend a qualifying offer to players who sign a contract prior to July 7. Any Player who has played in more than 190 professional regular-season games is ineligible to receive a Qualifying Offer.

The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until 11:59 p.m. ET on July 22 at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action. Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season.
 
All regular-season games played in any of the following leagues shall count towards a Player’s Rookie/Veteran and Qualifying Offer status.
 
North America – National Hockey League, American Hockey League, ECHL, Central Hockey League (Defunct, but games played count toward veteran status)
Europe – Czech Extraliga (Czech Republic), Liiga (Finland), DEL (Germany), KHL (Russia), Slovak Extraliga (Slovakia), SHL (Sweden), National League (Switzerland)

Adirondack Thunder Season-Ending Roster

Patrick Grasso (F)

Jace Isley (F)

Grant Loven (F)

Brannon McManus (F)

Chase McLane (F)

Kevin O’Neil (F)

Justin Taylor (F)

Matt Salhany (F)

Brian Carrabes (F)

Tanner Edwards (F)

Dan Ebrahim (F)

Daniel Amesbury (F)

Jacob Slipec (F)

Odeen Tufto (F)

Jacob Graves (D)

Conner Hutchison (D)

Pierson Brandon (D)

Jimmy Dowd Jr. (D)

Brendan Dowler (D)

Henry Welsch (G)

Analyis

As expected, the biggest need for Adirondack for the Thunder is going to be on the blueline with four of the six names as true possibilities to be back next season. Jeremy Hanzel, Luke Reid, Ryan Wheeler, and Jackson van de Leest are all currently on AHL deals, and besides Wheeler, I could see all three seeing time with the Utica Comets during the 2026-27 season. One notable name of the list is Mitchell Becker, the 25-year-old defenseman saw seven games with the Thunder at the end of last season.

The other big question will come between the pipes, as I don’t expect Tyler Brennan to be back next season, as his entry-level deal expired. I believe this could be the first time in a long time that the Thunder will have to go searching for a goaltender.

The forward group is pretty well set if the can bring back a good amount of their core pieces from last season. There are rumors circulating that Brannon McManus could be heading overseas, and if that’s the case, I could see a top-six winger and some depth wingers being a need to fill for the Thunder this Summer. There is one notable forward left off the list and that is Tyson Fawcett. In 70 games with Adirondack, Fawcett had nine goals and nine assists for 18 points, he would add one assist during the Kelly Cup Playoffs. It will be interesting to see how the Thunder decide to replace Fawcett.