Sioux Falls, S.D. (KELO.com) – The Sioux Falls Stampede announced today the club’s 28-man roster that will participate in the 2019 exhibition schedule before being trimmed to 23 players prior to the start of the 2019-20 United States Hockey League season on September 28 in Pittsburgh. The roster includes a total of 16 forwards, nine defensemen and three goaltenders, with fourteen players having some junior-level experience.
Returning to the Stampede are forwards Jared Westcott and Ryan Sullivan. Westcott tallied 15 goals and 24 assists for 39 points in 54 games during the regular season and added five goals and one assist throughout the 2019 Clark Cup Playoffs. He is committed to Penn State University. Sullivan tallied 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points in 62 games.
Stampede fans will also recognize forwards Brenden Olson and Nick DeSantis and defensemen Evan Bushy and Valtteri Piironen who played in some capacity for the team throughout last season.
“We are all excited for the new season. It was a short summer on the heels of our Clark Cup championship run, but through our two camps we feel like we have the makings of a good team, one that, if we remain patient, will get better as the year progresses,” said General Manager and Head Coach Scott Owens.
“Anytime you play as late as we did there’s that chance of losing players that we were expecting to have back, and it was certainly the case with some, including Matt Kessel and Sam Stevens who received late scholarships.”
Forward Sam Stevens committed to Boston University in late July and defenseman Matt Kessel committed to the University of Massachusetts, Amherst collegiate program earlier this month.
“With the turnover comes an opportunity for new younger players, ones that are new to junior hockey and others that have played in the North American Hockey League already or on other USHL rosters. It will just take some time to get everybody up to speed in our organization and adjust to the tempo and pace of the USHL.”
Some new faces include the addition of two 2003 birth-year Canadians, forward Cameron MacDonald from Hammonds Plains, Nova Scotia, who signed a tender with the team back in April, and defenseman Evan Nause, hailing from Riverview, New Brunswick. MacDonald finished the 2018-19 season with 72 goals and 54 assists for 126 total points in 52 games with Selects Academy.
For the complete roster visit www.sfstampede.com.
All players report to Sioux Falls this weekend and begin practice on Tuesday, Sept. 3. The Herd hosts the Fargo Force in preseason play at the Scheels IcePlex on Saturday, Sept. 20 with puck drop at 7:00 p.m. Season ticket holders receive free entry based on the number of season memberships for the year. Tickets for non-season ticket holders are $10 and can be purchased at the door. The Stampede opens the regular season at home Saturday, Oct. 5 against the Lincoln Stars at 7:05 p.m. at the PREMIER Center.
(Sioux Falls Stampede)
