The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe spoke with Toledo Walleye coach Dan Watson regarding the highly likely changes to the Walleye roster as the organization “trends younger”:
“My initial thoughts from talking to the guys is that we will not have a lot of guys returning,” head coach Dan Watson said. “It will be the biggest turnover we’ve had since 2014-15 when we only kept two players from that 2013-14 team. Some of the older guys will not dress in a Walleye uniform again.”
Change is inevitable in the ECHL, a Double-A league where roster turnover is common. The league also has a rule that allows teams to keep just four veterans — players who have played in more than 260 professional games — on the roster.
So such names as Shane Berschbach, A.J. Jenks, Alden Hirschfeld, and Kyle Bonis that will be inextricably linked to the establishment of a winning culture at the Huntington Center may soon be gone. Some may retire, others will opt to make more money playing in Europe.
“It’s too fresh. We met [for exit meetings] 12 hours after we lost,” Watson said. “So that’s still weighing on guys’ minds. It’s too early to tell which guys will go other places because of the seasons they had here. That’s just natural. There will be guys that will want to get into the working world because of their degrees.”
Monroe continues, outlining the roster’s probable changes…
