The Toledo Blade’s Mark Monroe spoke with Toledo Walleye coach Dan Watson regarding the state of the Red Wings’ ECHL affiliate, and coach Watson stated that his team is essentially built, despite the fact that not every roster player has been named yet…
The organization has officially announced the signing of 12 players, but Watson said his recruiting is essentially finished.
“We will have a very competitive group night in and night out,” Watson said. “We went and got pieces we feel can help us get to the playoffs again, but that is a long way away. We are pretty much set in what we have moving forward. We can’t wait to start training camp in October.”
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The team is expected to make a series of signing announcements as the season draws closer. Most ECHL organizations space out the signings throughout the offseason to maintain interest in the team.
“The fans should be excited about every Walleye player announcement,” Watson said. “As a staff, we do our homework, and every player will fit a role and contribute to our team’s success.”
The Red Wings have chosen to make their affiliation with Toledo a little more static over the past couple of seasons, only assigning one player (a goaltender) to Toledo, and Monroe confirms that the tradition will continue:
Toledo’s American Hockey League affiliate in Grand Rapids is expected to assign one goaltender to the Walleye. The Walleye also have signed a goalie. Last year’s No. 1 netminder, Billy Christopoulos, has left pro hockey to continue his military career in the Air Force.
Continued; my best guess at this point is that Michigan State University graduate Jonathan Lethemon will be the goaltender assigned to Toledo, but if Sebastian Cossa turns pro, he might head to Toledo, too.
