Here is a player-by-player look at the 2024-25 Toledo Walleye roster ahead of the season opener.
FORWARDS
Sam Craggs
■ Age: 27
■ Height: 6-foot-2
■ Weight: 195
■ Hometown: Elmhurst, Ill.
■ Last year’s stats: (Toledo) 70 games, 28 goals, 28 assists, 56 points.
■ Fish fact: Bowling Green grad, who set career highs in every category last season, ranked fourth on the team in penalty minutes (44).
Casey Dornbach
■ Age: 27
■ Height: 6-foot
■ Weight: 180
■ Hometown: Edina, Minn.
■ Last year’s stats: (Iowa, ECHL) 55 games, 13 goals, 29 assists, 42 points.
■ Fish fact: Dornbach, who was a captain at Harvard University, was the Heartlanders' second leading scorer last season.
Dalton Messina
■ Age: 26
■ Height: 5-foot-11
■ Weight: 195
■ Hometown: Macomb, Mich.
■ Last year’s stats: (Toledo) 10 games, 3 goals, 0 assists, 3 points. Ohio State (NCAA) 38 games, 6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points.
■ Fish fact: Messina, who was a four-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, skated in 84 games over five seasons for Ohio State, tallying 20 points (7 G, 13 A) with 53 penalty minutes.
Gabriel Seger
■ Age: 24
■ Height: 6-foot-4
■ Weight: 216
■ Hometown: Uppsala, Sweden
■ Last year’s stats: (Cornell, NCAA): 35 games, 14 goals, 30 assists, 44 points.
■ Fish fact: Seger was an assistant captain last season when he led the Big Red in goals scored and points and earned All-ECAC first team honors.
Brandon Hawkins
■ Age: 30
■ Height: 5-foot-10
■ Weight: 198
■ Hometown: Macomb Township, Mich.
■ Last year’s stats: (Toledo) 70 games, 40 goals, 53 assists, 93 points.
■ Fish fact: In his third season with the Walleye, “Hawk” earned the ECHL's MVP award after leading the league and setting franchise records in goals scored (40) and points (93).
Tyler Spezia
■ Age: 31
■ Height: 5-foot-10
■ Weight: 175
■ Hometown: Clinton Township, Mich.
■ Last year’s stats: (Grand Rapids, AHL) 45 games, 6 goals, 10 assists, 16 points.
■ Fish fact: Bowling Green grad started his career in Toledo (2018-19) and has played in 79 games for the Walleye, producing 59 points (21 G, 38 A).
Trenton Bliss
■ Age: 26
■ Height: 6-foot-1
■ Weight: 195
■ Hometown: Appleton, Wis.
■ Last year’s stats: (Toledo) 63 games, 27 goals, 45 assists, 72 points.
■ Fish fact: Bliss, who has played in 101 games for the Walleye over two seasons and in 35 AHL games for the Grand Rapids Griffins, ranked second on the team in overall points (72) and assists (45).
Carson Bantle
■ Age: 22
■ Height: 6-foot-5
■ Weight: 205
■ Hometown: Onalaska, Wis.
■ Last year’s stats: (Wisconsin, NCAA) 39 games, 14 goals, 5 assists, 19 points.
■ Fish fact: Chosen in the fifth round of the NHL draft by Arizona in 2020, set a career high in points last season. Bantle started his college career at Michigan Tech before playing three years at Wisconsin.
Conlan Keenan
■ Age: 29
■ Height: 5-foot-10
■ Weight: 181
■ Hometown: Rochester, N.Y.
■ Last year’s stats: (Toledo) 67 games, 25 goals, 15 assists, 40 points.
■ Fish fact: “Keens,” who is the longest tenured Walleye player on the current roster (199 games), enters his fourth season ranked ninth in franchise history in goals scored (56) and 11th in total points (103).
Brandon Kruse
■ Age: 25
■ Height: 5-foot-9
■ Weight: 155
■ Hometown: Saline, Mich.
■ Last year’s stats: (Toledo) 70 games, 18 goals, 36 assists, 54 points.
■ Fish fact: A BGSU product, Kruse has played in 26 ECHL playoff games the last two years, 12 for Newfoundland in 2022-23 and 14 for Toledo last season.
Darian Pilon
■ Age: 26
■ Height: 5-foot-10
■ Weight: 181
■ Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
■ Last year’s stats: (Toledo) 31 games, 1 goals, 2 assists, 3 points.
■ Fish fact: Pilon spent three seasons at the University of Prince Edward Island, netting 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists) to go along with 223 penalty minutes in 66 college games.
Mitchell Lewandowski
■ Age: 26
■ Height: 5-foot-9
■ Weight: 184
■ Hometown: Clarkston, Mich.
■ Last year’s stats: (Toledo) 57 games, 14 goals, 40 assists, 54 points.
■ Fish fact: “Lewey,” who was an assistant captain at Michigan State University, ranked fourth on last year’s Walleye team in assists with 40.
Griffin Ness
■ Age: 24
■ Height: 6-foot
■ Weight: 184
■ Hometown: Wayzata, Minn.
■ Last year’s stats: (North Dakota, NCAA) 30 games, 3 goals, 3 assists, 16 points.
■ Fish fact: In four years at college powerhouse North Dakota, Ness played in 111 games and had 20 points (10 G, 10 A).
DEFENSEMEN
Thomas Farrell
■ Age: 25
■ Height: 6-foot-1
■ Weight: 200
■ Hometown: Lake Bluff, Ill.
■ Last year’s stats: (Toledo) 28 games, 2 goals, 4 assists, 6 points.
■ Fish fact: Farrell, who started his pro career with Toledo in 2022-23, was a captain as a senior at Army where he produced 62 points (16 G, 46 A) in 126 college games. points (10 G, 10 A).
Jalen Smereck
■ Age: 27
■ Height: 6-foot
■ Weight: 190
■ Hometown: Detroit
■ Last year’s stats: (Cincinnati, ECHL) 70 games, 14 goals, 57 assists, 71 points.
■ Fish fact: Smereck led all ECHL defensemen in overall points (71) and assists (57 — tied for second among all players) en route to earning all-league first team honors last season.
Tanner Palocsik
■ Age: 25
■ Height: 5-foot-11
■ Weight: 190
■ Hometown: Aliquippa, Pa.
■ Last year’s stats: (Penn State, NCAA) 36 games, 2 goals, 14 assists, 16 points.
■ Fish fact: Palocsik, who played four years at Dartmouth College where he was the team’s captain in 2022-23, compiled 82 points (15 G, 67 A) in 129 college games.
Brendan Michaelian
■ Age: 26
■ Height: 6-foot
■ Weight: 172
■ Hometown: Wixom, Mich.
■ Last year’s stats: (Toledo) 29 games, 1 goal, 6 assists, 7 points.
■ Fish fact: Michaelian, who joined the Walleye mid-season, skated in 14 playoff games and had two assists with four penalty minutes after playing at Robert Morris University, Ferris State University, and Mercyhurst College.
Anthony Firriolo
■ Age: 26
■ Height: 5-foot-11
■ Weight: 180
■ Hometown: Montville, N.J.
■ Last year’s stats: (Iowa, ECHL) 21 games, 2 goals, 8 assists, 10 points.
■ Fish fact: Firriolo, who played four years at Army (75 points in 123 games) where he was a captain as a senior in 2022-23, played for three ECHL teams last year (Iowa, Indy, and Tulsa).
Colin Swoyer
■ Age: 26
■ Height: 6-foot
■ Weight: 192
■ Hometown: Hinsdale, Ill.
■ Last year’s stats: (South Carolina, ECHL) 40 games, 2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points.
■ Fish fact: Swoyer, who has played in 45 games in the American Hockey League, is a puck-moving defenseman who has accumulated 22 points (3 G, 19 A) and 56 penalty minutes in 91 games in his pro career.
Jed Pietila
■ Age: 25
■ Height: 5-foot-11
■ Weight: 185
■ Hometown: Howell, Mich.
■ Last year’s stats: (Michigan Tech, NCAA) 40 games, 2 goals, 12 assists, 14 points.
■ Fish fact: Pietla, who had three points (1 G, 2 A) in five regular season games for the Walleye last season, appeared in 75 games in two years at Michigan Tech and had 30 points (3 G, 27 A).
Chaz Reddekopp
■ Age: 27
■ Height: 6-foot-4
■ Weight: 225
■ Hometown: West Kelowna, B.C.
■ Last year’s stats: (Kalamazoo, ECHL) 67 games, 5 goals, 10 assists, 15 points.
■ Fish fact: Reddekopp, a former seventh round NHL pick who ranked second in the ECHL in overall penalty minutes (194) and second in major penalties (8), served as captain of the K-Wings last season.
Grant Gabriele
■ Age: 27
■ Height: 6-foot-2
■ Weight: 196
■ Hometown: Brighton, Mich.
■ Last year’s stats: (Toledo, ECHL) 40 games, 1 goal, 14 assists, 15 points.
■ Fish fact: The Ohio State product and Buckeyes’ assistant captain, who started his pro career with the ECHL’s Maine Mariners (25 points in 67 games), played in 14 playoff games for the Walleye.
GOALTENDERS
Jan Bednar
■ Age: 22
■ Height: 6-foot-4
■ Weight: 196
■ Hometown: Karlovy, Czech Republic
■ Last year’s stats: (Toledo, ECHL) 36 games, 22-7-2 record, 2.66 GAA, .901 save percentage.
■ Fish fact: In last season’s Kelly Cup playoffs, Bednar went 4-1 with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. The 107th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in 2020 NHL started his pro career in Toledo as a 20 year old and was named the ECHL’s goaltender of the month in March.
Gage Alexander
■ Age: 22
■ Height: 6-foot-6
■ Weight: 205
■ Hometown: Okotoks, Alberta
■ Last year’s stats: (Tulsa, ECHL) 19 games, 5-8-1 record, 3.76 GAA, .887 save percentage.
■ Fish fact: A fifth round pick by Anaheim in the 2021 NHL draft, Alexander has played in 16 AHL games and 26 ECHL games.
Carter Gylander
■ Age: 23
■ Height: 6-foot-4
■ Weight: 170
■ Hometown: Edmonton
■ Last year’s stats: (Colgate, NCAA) 32 games, 14-14-4 record, 2.93 GAA, .901 save percentage
■ Fish fact: A seventh round draft choice of the Red Wings in the 2019 draft, Gylander led Colgate to a berth in the NCAA Tournament as a junior and complied a 2.69 GAA, .907 save percentage with five shutouts in 106 appearances at Colgate.
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