BLOOMINGTON BISON NEWS – LOTS OF IT
BLOOMINGTON BISON ANNOUNCE SERIES OF FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS TRADES
By: Erik Konwinski, Bloomington Bison
BLOOMINGTON, Ill – The Bloomington Bison have acquired the rights to forward Bryce Brodzinski from the Savannah Ghost Pirates to complete a future considerations transaction. Additionally, the rights to forward Nick Deakin-Poot have been acquired from the Reading Royals.
The rights to forward Shane Ott and defenseman Cullen Ferguson have been traded to the Greensboro Gargoyles and the rights to defenseman Riku Ishida have been traded to the Rapid City Rush. The rights to forward Max Neill have been traded to the Atlanta Gladiators.
Brodzinski, 25, played 60 games with the Ghost Pirates and recorded 40 points (14g+26a). He also skated in four post-season games.
The second-year pro spent the 2024-25 season with Greenville and Norfolk and amassed a combined 53 points (22g+31a) in 69 games.
Prior to beginning his professional career, Brodzinski was selected 196th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 7thRound of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and earned the distinctions of being named Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey as the best high school player in the state and the USHS All-USA Hockey Player of the Year.
The Blaine, Minnesota product then played four seasons at the University of Minnesota and served as the team’s captain in his senior year. The winger totaled 119 points (60g+59a) in 185 NCAA Divison-I games and was an NCAA Big Ten Honorable Mention All-Star selection in the 2023-24 season. He was a member of the 2020-21 Big Ten Tournament Championship team.
Deakin-Poot, 27, skated in two postseason games with Reading after spending 37 games with the Fort Wayne Komets and recording eight points (1g+7a).
The 6-foot-5, 223-pound winger played the entire 2024-25 campaign with Fort Wayne and has amassed 29 points (6g+23a) and 119 penalty minutes in 101 career ECHL games.
Deakin-Poot was an alternate captain at Acadia University where he recorded 31 points (14g+17a) in 72 games. Before joining the university ranks, he played five seasons of Major-Junior hockey with the OHL’s Guelph Storm and the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs.
Completing future considerations trades is the final step teams make before submitting their season-ending rosters, which are due before 3 p.m. ET on June 22. Season-ending rosters may include up to 20 players and cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract in 2025-26.
2026-27 Full Season Memberships are available for as low as $72 per month on an interest free payment plan!! Special benefits include a Meet-the-Team event, Herd Store discount, invitation to exclusive events, ticket exchange program, exclusive FanSaves deals, and a personal Ticket Account Executive. Visit bloomingtonbisonhockey.com or call (309) 965-HERD for more information.
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BLOOMINGTON BISON ANNOUNCE 2026 PROTECTED LIST
By: Erik Konwinski, Bloomington Bison
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Bloomington Bison announced its protected list for the 2026-27 season on Tuesday. The list of players whose ECHL playing rights have been retained by the Bison include 17 forwards, 11 defensemen and two goaltenders.
The Protected List is the first phase in a three-step offseason process in which teams can protect playing rights through the signing period. The list does not include players on AHL or NHL contracts and is not equal to a signing. The protected list is as follows:
FORWARDS: Brandon Yeamans, Ilya Tsulygin, Jonny Evans, Max Neill, Daniel Tedesco, Kohei Sato, Parker Lindauer, Shane Ott, Grant Porter, Lou-Felix Denis, Ayden MacDonald, Mikhail Abramov, Zach Faremouth, Eddie Matsushima, Brad Morrison, Mark Kaleinikovas, Chongmin Lee
DEFENSEMEN: Mason Wheeler, Kylor Wall, Jesper Solomon-Frisell, Theo Calvas, Zack Hoffman, Cullen Ferguson, Parker Gavlas, Riku Ishida, Nikita Sedov, Seung Jae Lee, Brenden Datema
GOALTENDERS: Alex Proctor, Dryden McKay
Teams are allowed to protect as many players as they wish 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.
The ECHL also announced that teams must complete all Future Consideration trades by 3 p.m. ET on June 20 and that teams must submit their Season-Ending Roster by 3 p.m. ET on June 22.
Season-ending rosters may include up to 20 players and cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract in 2025-26.
2026-27 Full Season Memberships are available for as low as $72 per month on an interest free payment plan!! Special benefits include a Meet-the-Team event, Herd Store discount, invitation to exclusive events, ticket exchange program, exclusive FanSaves deals, and a personal Ticket Account Executive. Visit bloomingtonbisonhockey.com or call (309) 965-HERD for more information.
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BLOOMINGTON BISON FINALISTS FOR FIVE ECHL AWARDS
By: Erik Konwinski, Bloomington Bison
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Bloomington Bison front office has been named as a finalist in five different categories of the 2025-26 Team Awards. The winners will be announced at the 2026 ECHL Hockey Summer Meetings on June 24.
The Bison earned finalist honors in the following categories: Most Creative Revenue Generation (Stick 2 Reading), Corporate Partnership Team of the Year, Ticket Sales Professional of the Year (Jonathon Rubin), Ticket Department of the Year – Growth and the Team Award of Excellence – Growth.
The annual ECHL Team Awards honor teams and individuals in several categories for their accomplishments during the 2025-26 Season.
Individuals, departments and organizations across the 30-team league are recognized for creativity, growth, service and spirit.
Through the Stick 2 Reading program presented by Jimmy John’s, the Bison distributed custom bookmarks to schools across Central Illinois to provide a reading goal to students. More than 6,000 young fans completed their goals and received a free Jimmy John’s sandwich and Bison ticket.
On the ice, the team continued to make positive strides and qualified for playoffs for the first time. The off-ice impact, however, may have been even more special as the Bison emerged as an instrumental contributor to economic development in downtown Bloomington. Partnership support of the team reached new heights and continues to soar.
Overall, the ticket staff worked toward growth in all categories and increased single-game attendance, group participation and season ticket memberships. Individually, Rubin orchestrated doubled participation in the Bison Kids Club and significantly increased his year-over-year contributions to the team.
2026-27 Full Season Memberships are available for as low as $72 per month on an interest free payment plan!! Special benefits include a Meet-the-Team event, Herd Store discount, invitation to exclusive events, ticket exchange program, exclusive FanSaves deals, and a personal Ticket Account Executive. Visit bloomingtonbisonhockey.com or call (309) 965-HERD for more information.
