Idaho announces initial training-camp roster

Boise, ID (10/6/14) – Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Brad Ralph, in conjunction with the ECHL, announced the initial training-camp roster for the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads on Monday.

All of the players on this list are on ECHL-level contracts or tryouts.  No players have been assigned to Idaho at this point from the team’s AHL affiliate, Texas, or NHL affiliate, the Dallas Stars.  The list comprises of 14 forwards, eight defensemen and one goaltender:

Goaltender (1): Olivier RoyDefensemen (9): Charlie Dodero, Colin Shea, Eamonn McDermott, Matt Case, Patrick Cullity, Quinn Sproule, Travis Ehrhardt, Clinton Atkinson, Loren Ulett.Forwards (14): Brett Robinson, Colton Beck, David deKastrozza, Gaelan Patterson, James Livingston, Jason Bast, Kyle Gibbons, Levi Nelson, Luke Judson, Rob Linsmayer, Steve Quailer, Wade MacLeod, Riley Boychuk, Pearce Eviston.

Dodero, Beck, Livingston, Bast, Quailer and MacLeod have returned to Idaho after opening training camp with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.  Defenseman Travis Ehrhardt is in AHL camp with the Utica Comets.  The AHL is the highest level of minor-league hockey in North America.

Boychuk, Eviston, Ulett and Atkinson are all in camp on tryout contracts.  The 23-year-old Boychuk split last season between the ECHL’s Elmira Jackals and AHL’s Albany Devils.  Atkinson, 23, and Eviston, 21, are both British Columbia natives who concluded their junior careers in the British Columbia Hockey League.  Ulett, 20, appeared in 54 games for the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League last season, registering a plus-11 plus/minus rating.

Nine players – Dodero, McDermott, Cullity, Robinson, deKastrozza, Patterson, Bast, Judson and Linsmayer – played for the Steelheads last season while a tenth, Matt Case, played with Idaho from 2011 to 2013.

Training camp opens on Monday at CenturyLink Arena.  Starting Tuesday, the team will practice each day at 10 AM at CenturyLink Arena leading up to Friday’s annual “Season-Ticket Holder Only” pre-season game against the Utah Grizzlies. Those practices are free and open to the public.

The Steelheads open the regular season on the road on October 17 before returning home on Saturday, October 18, to host the Utah Grizzlies.  Single-game tickets are on sale.

Group outings at a Steelheads game are a great way to gather friends, colleagues, or co-workers for a fun night out in downtown Boise. Ticket prices are discounted and you can get a Pepsi, Double-R Ranch Hot Dog, and bag of Tim’s Cascade Chips with each ticket. Contact the Steelheads front office at 208.383.0080 or log on to www.idahosteelheads.com for more information.