ICEMEN REPORT: Team Retains Key Players, Adds Two Rookie Forwards

Fans of the Jacksonville Icemen will be excited to learn that the team has begun carving out its roster for the upcoming 2018-19 season.

The second-year team’s first move upon the opening of ECHL’s free agency was to retain one of the most important players from its inaugural season. Forward Cameron Critchlow was officially re-signed by the Icemen on June 27.

“When you start a roster from scratch like we did last year, you don’t always know what you’re going to get,” the team’s head coach, Jason Christie, said via press release. “You hope to get a guy like Critch – a hard-worker who the rest of the locker room looks up to. He’s a great hockey player, but more importantly, he’s a great guy and that’s the foundation we want to build this team upon.”

The team has also retained forwards Cody Fowlie and Eli Lichtenwald, and defenseman Dajon Mingo.

And most recently, the Icemen announced on August 7 that they’ve added two rookie forwards to the lineup for next season.

(One key distinction to remember: in the ECHL, you’re a “rookie” if you’ve played less than 25 games of pro hockey.)

The team signed Colton Veloso and Jake Randolph for 2018-19. Both young forwards gained ECHL experience last year – Veloso played with the Icemen for their final four games, while Randolph spent the last 11 games of the season with the Worcester Railers.

The team, which serves as an affiliate for the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets and the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, will continue filling out its roster ahead of the start of their second season, which begins at Veterans Memorial Arena on October 13 against the South Carolina Stingrays.

We’ll be keeping you posted on the team’s acquisitions as we add the Icemen to our ever-expanding roster of local news coverage!