First up is 23 year old left winger Wyllum Deveaux. Local fans know Deveaux after spending the last 4 years at Harvard University. After college was over he played three games for the Pittsburgh Penguins Double A Wheeling Nailers to end the season. This year he's on the Maine Mariners to start the year and it'll be interesting to see where he ends up. He has a grand total of 9 goals total between juniors, college and the ECHL going back to 2017 so he didn't exactly light the world on fire. Its a new year, let's see how he goes.
Up next is 21 year old left winger Owen Pederson. Pederson has been playing Juniors since 2019 although he had a breakout season last year for the Winnipeg Ice scoring 32 goals with 42 assists. If he can continue that momentum for the Mariners, he might see American Hockey League action either this year or next.
Up next is 22 year old right winger Brooklyn Kalmikov. Unlike the first two guys on the list, Kalmikov has AHL experience. He also played for the Wheeling Nailers last year but played 3 games for the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Penguins. He's at least shown he could crack an AHL roster so let's see if he can do it again. A breakout season for the Mainers would be helpful in getting back to Scranton or somewhere else.
Up next is 27 year old left winger Austin Albrecht. Austin is a veteran of the minors, bouncing around various leagues the last few years. He had 16 points in 25 games for the Mariners last year so he's back for another go-around. Sad part is he hasn't made the AHL yet, maybe this year will be the year. Good luck Austin.
Up next is 26 year old right winger Reid Stefanson. Local fans remember him for spending 4 years at Umass Lowell from 2019-2022. He's spent the last two seasons with Maine although he had a breakout campaign last year with 22 goals and 25 assists. Hopefully another season like that will get him a look by the AHL. If nothing else, at least he's playing at a high level when others never made it this far.
Up next is 28 year old left winger Timothy Doherty. Local fans know him as he spent his junior years playing for the Boston Jr Bruins before playing 3 years with Maine University. He's spent the last 3 years in the ECHL and had a breakout year for Maine last year, scoring 21 goals with FIFTY TWO assists. A playmaker like that deserves to be in the AHL so hopefully this is the year he makes it. Good luck Doherty.
Next up is another local guy, 26 year old center Cameron Askew. Askew played Juniors in Quebec up until 2018 then spent the last 5 seasons in the ECHL, the last two with the Mariners. Last year he had 32 points in 52 games and is definitely a regular on this team. Will he ever make the AHL? Who knows, but this could be the year. Keep fighting Cam.
Up next is 26 year old center Jimmy Lambert. Lambert spent four years playing for Michigan University before playing for the Worcester Railers of the ECHL and one game for the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL last season. Just like Kalmikov, Lambert has shown he can crack the AHL. Maybe this year he'll do well enough in Maine to be a mainstay.
Has tasted the AHL
Up next is 29 year old left wing Alex Kile. Kile spent four years at Michigan University then spent from 2017 to the present shuffling between the AHL and the ECHL. The closest he came to the NHL was a 33 game stint for the Montreal Canadiens top farm team, the AHL Laval Rocket in 2019 where he scored 5 goals. Still, if he can light up Maine this year maybe Providence or someone else will give him a look. Of all the guys in the group, he came the closest to the NHL, maybe someday he'll actually make it.
Up next is one of the youngsters of the group, 20 year old center Adam Mechura. Mechura lit up the Western Hockey League's Tri-City Americans last year for 52 points in 58 games. If he has a season like that for Maine this year, a LOT of AHL scouts are going to bid for his services. This could be a diamond in the rough for Maine after nabbing him in the 2022 Import Draft (don't ask).
Up next is 28 year old minor league veteran center Gabe Guertler. He spent 2012 to 2019 playing Juniors or University before playing 30 games of Single A hockey in 2021 for the Macon Mayhem of the Southern Professional Hockey League (think the south's version of the Danbury Hat Tricks). He's spent the last two years with the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL and here he is in Maine. It'll be interesting if he can crack the AHL because not very many people have gone from Single A all the way to Triple A or beyond.
Up next is one of their only players at least drafted in the NHL, 22 year old left winger Ethan Keppen. Ethan was a 4th round pick by the Vancouver Canucks back in 2019 after lighting up the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League for 59 points in 68 games. Last year he played 36 games for the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL scoring 4 goals. The Florida Panthers were so loaded that they didn't need him so here he is in Maine this year. Hopefully he can have a good season to get back to the AHL.
Up next is another local, 27 year old right winger Chase Zieky. He spent two years at Providence College before transferring to R.P.I. He's spent the last two years bouncing around the ECHL while putting up 14 points in 23 games for the Mariners to end last season. Is the AHL in sight? Maybe. He'd have to have a heck of a season to get noticed, good luck to Chase.
Up next is 28 year old local center Tyler Drevitch. He played for the Boston Bandits as a teenager before spending 4 years at Merrimack College. He spent the last 3 years in the ECHL having a breakout campaign last year with 33 points in 72 games for the Wheeling Nailers. Let's see what happens this year with the Mariners.
Up next is 25 year old left winger Troy MacTavish. Troy played college hockey at University of Wisconsin Superior before playing Single A hockey the last two seasons for the Birmingham Bulls of the SPHL. His breakout campaign last year of 39 points in 53 games earned him a trip to Maine this season. Let's see how he does in Double A hockey in 2023-24.
Up next is 25 year old right winger Brendan Harrogate. Harrogate spent 2014 to 2022 in Juniors or University before putting up 42 points in 54 games for the Evansville Thunderbolts of the SPHL last season. Just like MacTavish, he's making a jump from Single A to Double A. Hopefully he finds success at this level as well.
Up next is 26 year old left winger Branden Makara. He spent 2 years playing for Colorado College before taking the next three years off. He returned to play a year for the University of Ottawa in 2022 before spending last year in Single A with the Pensacola Ice Flyers. He ended the year with the Orlando Solar Bears and begins this season with Maine. Talk about never giving up after 3 years away.
Rounding out the forwards is 20 year old left winger Cole Dubinsky. Just like Mechura, Dubinsky comes straight from Juniors, spending last year with the Regina Pats and Prince George Cougars. 32 points in 40 games combined earned Cole a trip to Maine. Let's see if he and/or Mechura can make it to the AHL this season.
Up next is one of the only men on the roster to actually play for Providence, 26 year old defenseman Andrew Peski. Peski spent 4 years at North Dakota University before shuffling between ECHL and the AHL the last three seasons, including 15 games with the Providence Bruins and 5 games for the Springfield Firebirds. He's already tasted the AHL once before and looks to do it again. Hopefully this is the season he breaks out and becomes a mainstay.
Up next is 26 year old defenseman Gabriel Chicoine. Gabriel played Juniors or College hockey from 2015-2022 before landing with the Mariners at the end of the 2022 season. Last season he put up 34 points in 63 games with the Mariners and looks to have a good season with Maine this year as well. The AHL may be out of reach but you never know, at least he'll be good on the Mariners.
Back with the Mariners
Up next is 25 year old defenseman Alex Sheehy. He spent two years in American Juniors before playing for 3 years with New England University. He's coming to Maine straight out of college so this will be a big jump for Sheehy. Hope he's ready for Double A competition.
Not in college anymore
Up next is well traveled 26 year old defenseman Mackenzie Dwyer. Dwyer played Juniors from 2014-2019 before taking 2020 off. The last 3 seasons he's shuffled between the SPHL and ECHL putting up just 7 points in 37 games last year. The stat you're looking for with him are penalty minutes since he's the unofficial team cement head. That's the kind of guy ANYONE in the AHL could want, someone who goons it up when needed.
Up next is another youngster, 21 year old defenseman Ethan Ritchie. He's spent the last 5 years in Juniors including 44 points in 65 games for the Sarnia Sting last year. Its a big jump from Juniors to the ECHL so I hope Ritchie is ready. He could be AHL bound someday, hope he has a good season for the Mariners.
Up next is 25 year old defenseman Owen Norton. Norton played FIVE years for Mercyhurst College before getting into 4 games with the Mariners at the end of last season. Let's see what Owen can do on the defensive side of the puck in a full season with the Mariners. He was known for throwing his weight around with the Surrey Eagles.
Up next is the elder statesman of the team, 30 year old local Connor Doherty. He spent 2012-14 playing for the Boston Jr Bruins before playing three years for Sacred Heart University. He's spent the last six years in the ECHL including the last two for the Maine Mariners. If nothing else, he's an experienced veteran that can teach the kids about road travel for those aren't familiar with it. A guy like this may not make the AHL but is still valuable for life lessons.
Up next is 23 year old defenseman Seth Bafaro. After playing 7 years of Juniors and one year of Canadian college hockey, he somehow ended up in Scotland playing for the Fife Flyers last season. Scotland isn't known as a hockey hotbed in Europe compared to the Nordic countries so it'll be interesting to see how he handles Double A hockey. At least he'd have some stories to tell after playing overseas.
Up last for the defensemen is the only Boston Bruins draft pick on the team, 20 year old Ryan Mast who was drafted in the 6th round back in 2021. He played 2020, 2022 and last year for the Sarnia Sing and now makes the jump to the Maine Mariners. It'll be interesting to see if he can play well here and earn a promotion to Providence as he's the only contracted player on the team. Everyone else can be traded or get signed by anyone, Mast is strictly Bruins property for now. The sky is the limit for the 20 year old.
Up first for the goalies is 26 year old local Brad Arvanitis. He played 2 years at Umass-Amhurst before playing 2 years for Babson College. Since then he's played 9 games in the ECHL and 20 in the SPHL putting up average numbers. If nothing else, at least he played professionally after coming out of Babson.
Good luck Arvanitis
Up next is 25 year old goalie Cole Ceci. Quite frankly Ceci has put up below average numbers in Juniors from 2015-19 before playing the last three years for York University putting up the same numbers. Going 6-8-1 with a GAA of 3.35 for York last year doesn't sound good for future success with Maine. Still, he may turn it around after all, you never know. Maybe the coaches at Maine will show him something he hasn't seen before.
Last but not least is 29 year old local Shane Starrett. He's a well traveled veteran who's played in Juniors, the ECHL and the AHL. He came within an eyelash of the NHL when he went 27-12-2 for the Bakersfield Condors, the top farm team of the Edmonton Oilers. Its amazing he didn't even at least get a chance over Anthony Solarz and Cam Talbot that year but oh well. He spent 2022 in Scotland and last year with the Kansas City Mavericks of the ECHL. You never know how things will turn out, maybe an injury or a call-up will have Starrett back in the AHL sooner rather than later. For someone who came THIS close to the NHL, everyone will be rooting for Starrett this season.
This year's coach is 31 year old ex-Mariner forward Terrance Wallin. Wallin retired at the end of the 2020 season after putting up 43 points in 56 games. He was an assistant coach in 2022 for the Mariners and was the head coach and general manager last year, taking the squad to the ECHL playoffs. Now with another year under his belt, we'll see how he responds to a new team and new youngsters that he hasn't played with.
Well there you have it, the 2023-24 Maine Mariners roster....before the season starts anyway. We got two guys who came THIS close to the NHL, one guy drafted by the Canucks and one guy drafted by the Bruins. Starrett and Kile are looking for a chance to get back to the AHL while guys like Mechura, Dubinsky and Ritchie could be future AHL players. Mast may actually get to Providence before the year is over due to injuries or good play. Like I said in the intro, guys at this level rarely make it to the NHL, especially the well traveled veterans. There's always a chance and they play for the love of the game. Maine actually made the playoffs last year so it'll be fun if they can do it again. Definitely check out these guys at Cross Insurance Arena some point this year, you won't regret it.
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