The Newfoundland Growlers announced their protected player list this week, and some fans may be surprised to learn a group of the team’s top players during the COVID-19 shortened 2019-20 ECHL season are not among the nine players protected.
Players like team MVP Brady Ferguson, along with Justin Brazeau and Joe Duszak, who were both named to the ECHL’s all-rookie team this season, and Giorgio Estephan, who was voted the Growlers’ top forward this year.
No worries, however, as those four, and others, remain property of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, playing on ECHL/American Hockey League, and NHL contracts.
Players operating on those contracts do not have to be protected.
According to a Growlers’ news release, the announcement of protected players is the first step of a multi-step process in which ECHL teams reserve the rights to ECHL-contracted players for the upcoming hockey season.
Other ECHL teams cannot sign these players until the team with which they played for the previous season extend qualifying offers.
Teams have until June 15 to sign the players. If not, they become unprotected and free to sign with other ECHL teams.
The Growlers have nine players on their protected list, including two goaltenders, four defencemen and three forwards. That’s fewer than most ECHL protected lists, because the Growlers had upwards of 10 players on ECHL/AHL contracts last season and two more – Duszak and Mac Hollowell — on NHL deals.
Others who played on ECHL/AHL contracts last season are Zach O’Brien, Marcus Power, Colt Conrad, Trey Bradley and Matt Bradley.
The nine protected Growlers are:
Goaltenders Michael Garteig, Parker Gahagen; Defencemen: Garrett Johnston, Evan Neugold, James Melindy, Tommy Panico; Forwards: Todd Skirving, Mark Tremaine, Dylan Vander Esch
Note goaltender Garteig is protected, despite the fact he played in Finland last season. The Growlers still retain his ECHL rights if he does not re-sign to play overseas.
