SWAMP RABBITS NAME TISCHKE 9TH TEAM CAPTAIN
SWAMP RABBITS NAME TISCHKE 9TH TEAM CAPTAIN
Eighth-year d-man earns first professional C, joined by Jake Murray and Mike O’Leary as alternate captains.
By: Mark Binetti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits
GREENVILLE, SC – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and AHL’s Ontario Reign, announced before Opening Night, presented by Bon Secours St. Francis Health System, that veteran defenseman Peter Tischke has been named the ninth captain in franchise history.
The leadership group includes Tischke, with returning Swamp Rabbits defenseman Jake Murray and veteran forward Mike O’Leary as alternate captains.
Swamp Rabbits legend Bretton Cameron presented the captains to the Team. The news broke to the locker room Wednesday morning: he is the only player in the 25-year history of Greenville professional hockey to have his number retired. Cameron, who has made a home in Greenville since retiring from hockey in 2018, captained the Road Warriors/Swamp Rabbits for four seasons, from 2014 until his retirement. We publicly revealed the captains last night at our annual “Meet the Team” event, hosted by PKL Park.
Tischke earns his first professional captaincy after serving as an alternate, most recently with the Jacksonville Icemen. He signed this offseason with the Swamp Rabbits after playing against the Team as a South Division rival for the last three seasons, most recently in Jacksonville. In 2025-26, the 6’1”, 216-pound blueliner suited up 53 times with the Icemen, logging 15 points (3g-12ast), and played an additional four games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, earning an assist.
From Hinsdale, IL, Tischke, 30, enters his eighth professional season, and his sixth in the ECHL. As an AHLer, he has 82 games and 12 points to his credit with the Americans and Colorado Eagles, and he adds 202 ECHL contests, where he’s earned 53 points, a +33 rating, and 137 PIM with the Icemen, Savannah Ghost Pirates, Cincinnati Cyclones, and Utah Grizzlies. Before turning pro, Tischke played four NCAA seasons at the University of Wisconsin and captained the Badgers in his final season. As a Badger, he made the Big Ten Honorable Mention All-Star Team twice (2017, 2018) and earned the 2019 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Murray was the first player signed and announced to the Swamp Rabbits this offseason and later earned an AHL contract with the Ontario Reign. The 6’3”, 215-pound blueliner served as an alternate captain last season and played 64 games in the Upstate, earning 20 points (2g-18ast) and a team-leading +16 rating. Murray was also called up to the AHL on a PTO twice and played two games: once with the Abbotsford Canucks on November 11th and again with the Rockford IceHogs on March 4th.
From Oakville, Ontario, Murray enters his fourth professional season, split between the AHL’s IceHogs, Canucks, and Texas Stars, and the ECHL’s Swamp Rabbits, Bloomington Bison, Idaho Steelheads, and Cincinnati Cyclones. On pace to celebrate his 200th game this season, Murray has 21 AHL games and 164 ECHL games, with nine goals, 55 assists, and 64 points and a +18 rating in the latter. Before turning professional, Murray spent five seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Kingston Frontenacs and the Guelph Storm, logging 100 points in 257 contests.
O’Leary signed with the Swamp Rabbits this offseason after a career year with the Tahoe Knight Monsters. The 6’2”, 200-pound forward racked up a personal best 33 points (12g-21ast) in 65 games in his first full ECHL season in Nevada, matching a career high in goals and setting a new mark in assists. He added another two appearances in the 2026 Kelly Cup Playoffs, falling in the first round to the eventual Kelly Cup runner-up Kansas City Mavericks.
From Halifax, NS, O’Leary, 28, enters his seventh season of professional hockey, in which he’s played 292 career games with 33 goals, 58 assists, and 91 points. More than half of his experience comes in the AHL, where he spent most of that time with the Hartford Wolf Pack and also made stops with the Iowa Wild and Milwaukee Admirals, earning 44 points in 188 contests. Before his season in Tahoe, O’Leary skated briefly with the Florida Everblades and spent parts of two seasons with Ilves in Liiga, Finland’s top league, earning a bronze medal in 2025. Before turning professional, O’Leary played four NCAA seasons at Notre Dame, won two Big Ten Championships, helped the Fighting Irish reach the 2018 Frozen Four, and spent one USHL season with the Dubuque Fighting Saints, leading the Team to a runner-up finish in the Clark Cup Finals in 2016.
The Swamp Rabbits officially begin the 25th season of professional hockey in the Upstate on “Opening Night,” presented by Bon Secours St. Francis Health System on Friday, October 16th. Puck drop is set for 7:05 pm at Bon Secours Wellness Arena, with a pre-game on Furman Plaza to kick off the festivities, featuring an “orange carpet” entrance for the 2026-27 Greenville Swamp Rabbits.
About the Greenville Swamp Rabbits …
Acquired by Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) in 2020, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team has been providing family-friendly, live entertainment at Bon Secours Wellness Arena since 2010. Formerly the Greenville Road Warriors, the Swamp Rabbits are South Carolina’s highest-level professional minor league franchise. The Swamp Rabbits are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s LA Kings and the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Greenville is a member of the ECHL, the premier AA Hockey League.
