ECHL: Adirondack Thunder Announce 2025 Season-Opening Roster

Active Roster

Forwards

The Adirondack forward core to start the year has a mix of AHL skaters, rookies, and some veterans. There’s no doubt that some players will be able to produce offensively, and the bottom six depth has the potential to contribute as well.

Cam Squires (F)

Dan Ebrahim (F)

Brannon McManus (F)

Brian Carrabes (F)

Justin Taylor (F)

T.J. Friedmann (F)

Sean Olson (F)

Kishaun Gervais (F)

Alex Campbell (F)

Tyson Fawcett (F)

Dylan Wendt (F)

Matt Salhany (F)

The Blueline

Head Coach Sylvain Clouthier mentioned on Thursday during his media availability that the Thunder need to cut their goal allowed down by 50 or 60 to be a successful team. One of the biggest topics since training camp began has been experience, and there’s a lot of it with Ryan Wheeler, Jacob Graves, and Mathieu Boislard. Luke Reid is expected to be a promising piece on the blueline and should be one of their biggest weapons back there as well.

Pierson Brandon (D)

Conner Hutchison (D)

Jeremy Hanzel (D)

Luke Reid (D)

Mathieu Boislard (D)

Ryan Wheeler (D)

Jacob Graves (D)

Goaltenders

Henry Welsch (G)

Tyler Brennan (G)

There’s no doubt that Jeremy Brodeur was going to see time in Utica, but it wasn’t expected to be right away, as Tyler Brennan will handle the bulk of the goaltending duties until Brodeur returns. Heading into the season, there’s been a lot of hype around Brennan after a solid showing with the Utica Comets during their training camp.

Players on Reserve

The Adirondack Thunder will begin the 2025-26 season with forwards Sean Gulka and Chase McLane on reserve. With two forwards on reserve to start the season, this means Adirondack will head into Sunday with seven defenseman. I expect the Thunder to dress 12-7 on Sunday afternoon, with the extra skater being allowed for the first 30 days of the regular season.

IR

Defenseman Jimmy Dowd Jr. (3-day IR), along with forwards Greg Smith (14-Day IR) and Grant Loven (14-Day IR), will miss time to begin the season. These are significant losses for the Thunder as Loven was an important piece for Adirondack last season. Jimmy Dowd Jr. was expected to be a solid young piece on the blueline, but like Loven will miss the first two weeks of the season. The loss of Dowd Jr. should open up bigger roles for Conner Hutchison and Mathieu Boislard.