Icemen announce qualifying offers

The Evansville Icemen recently announced its eight qualifying offers for the 2015-16 season as of July 1.

Each ECHL team was entitled to reserve the rights to a maximum of eight qualified players. Of the eight qualified players, no more than four could be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the upcoming 2015-16 season). Also, players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded.

A qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until August 1, 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 non-veteran player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season.

A team that extends a valid qualifying offer to a veteran player will retain the rights to that veteran until August 1. After August 1, if the veteran player is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran shall be deemed a restricted free agent and shall be entitled to seek and secure offers from other ECHL teams.

Following are the eight players extended qualfiying offers by the Icemen:

Cal Heeter: A 26-year-old 6’4″, 195 lbs goaltender from St. Louis, Heeter appeared in four games with the Icemen last season but also played 22 games with Medvescak Zagreb of the KHL and was loaned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies for one game.

In his stint with the Icemen, Heeter posted a 2.24 Goals Against Average and a Save Percentage of .922.

Spencer Humphries: A 23-year-old 6’2″, 208 lbs. defenseman from Tsawwassen, BC; Humphries played in 15 games for the Icemen at the end of the 2014-15 season having played 52 for Greenville Road Warriors as well. The previous season saw Humphries splitting time overseas between the KHL and the Czech Pro League, his pro debut after playing parts of the previous five seasons in the WHL at Tri-City and Calgary.

With the Icemen, Evansville collected four points (1g, 3a) and seven penalty minutes.

Dan Sova: Another defender who came in late last season, Sova, a 25-year-old 6’4″, 220 lbs. native of Cottage Grove, MN actually was loaned to the Icemen by Pensacola of the SPHL for 11 games, picking up one assist and 26 penalty minutes and finishing at -1 in GF/GA.

Last year was the first pro season for Sova who played his junior with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL, then moved on to play four seasons at Michigan Tech.

Jarret Lukin: A 31-year-old veteran center from Fort McMurray, AB, this 5’11”, 187 lbs. forward played 56 games with the Icemen last season, named Assistant Captain and he collected 38 points (12g, 26a).

Lukin is entering his eighth full season as a pro, having played junior with Kamloops and Medicine Hat of the WHL and a couple of seasons at the University of Calgary as well.

Robin Soudek: Evansville was one of three ECHL stops for Soudek, a 23-year-old 6’2″, 185 lbs. right winger from Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic last season.

After previous stops at Stockton and Rapid City, Soudek, played 33 games with Evansville and collected 18 points (8g, 10a)

Mike Banwell: Acquired from Greenville, Banwell is a 28-year-old, 6’2″, 198 lbs. defenseman from Scarborough, ON.

In 51 games at Greenville last season, Banwell counted a goal and 14 assists with 27 penalty minutes and he finished the sesaon as a -1.

Cameron Burt: A 28-year old, 5’10”, 170 lbs. forward who calls Detroit home, Burt is entering his fifth full season of ECHL play — the previous two with the Florida Everblades and two before that with the Ontario Reign.

Burt actually played the final seven games of the 2011-12 season at Ontario as well, after finishing his four season run at RIT.

Last season in Florida, Banwell, who can play forward or defense, collected 47 points (6g, 41a) in 67 games and he had a three game stint on loan with the Rochester Americans of the AHL as well.

Patrick Cullen: The Icemen also sent a qualifying offer to Patrick Cullen who last played for the Rapid City Rush.

A 26-year-old forward from Washington D.C. the 6’0″194 lbs. Cullen started last season with the Indy Fuel but played the second half of the season in South Dakota. The move paid off as Cullen collected 16 points (7g, 9a) and was a -15 in 31 games at Indy before moving on to the Rush where he added another 25 points (7g, 18a) in 38 games and finished at +4. Cullen added another six points (1g, 5a) in 11 playoff games with Rapid City.

Cullen also played his junior at Indy with the USHL’s Ice in 2007-08 and then moved on to a four year stretch at RPI. After wrapping up his final year at collge, Cullen made his pro debut with eight games with ECHL’s South Carolina Stingray. He played the next three seasons on various German pro teams, then made his return to North America this past season.