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Offseason HQ

Welcome to Offseason HQ! This page will help keep everyone up-to-date on Bison players from the 2025-26 season and their status for the 2026-27 campaign!

For your convenience, please see definitions and criteria below the list of players.

The following chart shows the players that skated for Bloomington during the 2025-26 season and were on the protected list or received qualifying offers for the 2026-27 season. Players who had their rights acquired after June 8 were not eligible to be on the protected list.

ECHL Contracts:

PlayerProtected listSeason-Ending RosterQualifying OfferSigned 2026-27
Brandon YeamansXXineligible 
Ilya Tsulygin [R]X   
Jonny EvansX   
Max NeillX  Rights Traded to ATL
Daniel Tedesco*XXX 
Kohei Sato*X  SIGNED Briançon (France)
Parker Lindauer [R]XX  
Shane Ott   Rights Traded to GSO
Grant Porter [R]XX SIGNED ECHL SPC
Lou-Felix DenisXX  
Ayden MacDonald [V]XXineligible 
Mikhail AbramovXX  
Zach FaremouthXX  
Eddie Matsushima [V]XXineligible 
Brad Morrison [V]X ineligible 
Mark KaleinikovasXXX 
Mason Wheeler [R]XX  
Kylor WallXX  
Jesper Solomon-Frisell*X  SIGNED: Anglet (France)
Theo Calvas*X   
Zack Hoffman [QO]XineligibleineligibleSIGNED: Dundee (EIHL)
Cullen FergusonX  Rights Traded to GSO
Parker GavlasXXXSIGNED: Esbjerg (Denmark)
Riku IshidaX  Rights Traded to RC
Nikita Sedov [V]XXineligible 
Seung Jae LeeXX SIGNED ECHL SPC
Brenden DatemaXX  
Alex Proctor [R]X   
Dryden McKayXXX 
Bryce BrodzinskiineligibleXX 
Nick Deakin-PootineligibleXX 

AHL Contracts: 

Player2025-26 Season2026-27 Season
Deni GoureSigned 1-yr AHL (CHI)SIGNED: Manitoba
Kyle JacksonSigned 1-yr AHL (HFD)AHL: UFA
Zakary KarpaSigned 1-yr AHL (HFD)SIGNED: Hartford
Sullivan MackSigned 1-yr AHL (HFD)SIGNED: Manitoba
Chongmin LeeSigned 1-yr AHL (CLE)AHL: UFA | ECHL QO made by BLM
Cooper MooreSigned 1-yr AHL (HFD)SIGNED: Hartford
Chris OrtizSigned 1-yr AHL (HFD)SIGNED: Providence

NHL Contracts:

Player2025-26 Season2026-27 Season
Hugo Ollas     2nd of 2-yr ELC (NYR)Signed with Nybro Vikings (Sweden 2)
Callum Tung1st of 3-yr ELC (NYR)2nd of 3-yr ELC

Key: [R] = Rookie for 2026-27 season, [V] = Veteran for 2026-27 season, * = Placed on Team Suspension during 2025-26 season to maintain ECHL playing rights, QO = Qualifying Offer was made to player for 2025-26 season, ELC = Entry Level Contract, UFA = Unrestricted Free Agent, RFA = Restricted Free Agent

Rookie Player Status: A rookie is any player who has played less than 25 regular-season games of professional hockey at the "AA" level or higher as of the start of the current season.

Veteran Player Status: A veteran shall mean a player, other than a goaltender, who has played in at least 260 regular season games of professional hockey prior to the start of the current season. Provided however, any player signed to a NHL or AHL contract which contains an ECHL assignment provision shall be exempt from the foregoing rule. Notwithstanding the above, any player assigned to an ECHL member team on a NHL or AHL contract shall be deemed to be a veteran if said player is 24 years or older and has participated in 260 regular-season professional hockey games as of the opening day of the season of said year.

Games that count toward the 260-game threshold include those played in the following leagues:

North American Professional Leagues:

  • National Hockey League (NHL)
  • American Hockey League (AHL)
  • ECHL
  • Central Hockey League (CHL) – Defunct 
  • International Hockey League (IHL) – Defunct 
  • United Hockey League (UHL) – Defunct 
  • West Coast Hockey League (WCHL) – Defunct 

Elite European Leagues (Top Tier Only):

  • Sweden (Svenska Hockeyligan - SHL)
  • Russia (Kontinental Hockey League - KHL)
  • Finland (Liiga)
  • Germany (Deutsche Eishockey Liga - DEL)
  • Czech Republic (Extraliga - ELH)
  • Switzerland (National League - NL)
  • Slovakia (Extraliga)

Protected List:

Teams were allowed to protect as many players as they wished, provided the players protected meet the guidelines as defined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association which state that teams shall retain the rights to each player that: 

1. Signed an SPC in 2025-26 with the Member, and has not been traded or released, OR

2. Signed an SPC in 2025-26, and was recalled to the NHL/AHL or IIHF team, and has not been traded or released, OR

3. Had received a Qualifying Offer last summer for the current Season, DID NOT sign an SPC, and has not been traded or released, OR

4. Has been suspended by the Member or League, and has not been traded or released, OR

5. Signed an SPC on or after the first day of the 2025-26 Regular Season, then subsequently signed an NHL/AHL contract, and has not been traded or released, OR

6. Has executed the ECHL Retirement Form, and has not been traded or released. 

Season-Ending Roster:

Season-Ending Rosters may include up to 20 players. Season-Ending Rosters cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract in 2025-26.

Each team is entitled to reserve rights to a maximum of eight players from the list of 20 by extending a qualifying offer no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on July 7. Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded. Teams are not required to extend a qualifying offer to players who sign a contract prior to July 7. 

The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until 11:59 p.m. ET on July 22 at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action. Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season. Any Player who has played in more than 190 professional regular-season games in the leagues listed above is ineligible to receive a Qualifying Offer.

 

Important Upcoming Date:

Restricted Free Agency Ends: August 8