CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Cincinnati Cyclones, the ECHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League, announced they have submitted qualifying offers on six players for the 2009-10 season. The six players are forwards Justin Johnson, Jimmy Kilpatrick, Felix Petit, Matt Syroczynski and Mark Van Guilder and defenseman Jason Woll.
Johnson led the ECHL in penalty minutes (259) last season and fought a league-high 31 times. Kilpatrick finished twelfth among rookies in scoring (50 points) despite missing 27 games due to call ups and injury. Petit joined the team late in the season and collected a pair of goals and a pair of assists during the Kelly Cup playoffs. Syroczynski led the Kelly Cup playoffs with six power play goals. His score in the second overtime of game seven against Wheeling advanced the club to the North Division Finals. Van Guilder finished fourth among rookies and eleventh overall in scoring (70 points). Woll finished seventh on the team in plus/minus (+7) despite only playing in ten games after the completion of his collegiate season.
Teams are not allowed to sign more than 24 players to contracts during the summer. Players that were not signed by July 1 or extended a qualifying offer by July 1 become unrestricted free agents.
“Building a team is a challenge that started immediately after we were eliminated by South Carolina,” Cyclones Head Coach Chuck Weber said. “There will be some familiar faces here when training camp opens and there will be quite a few new ones as well. The one constant is that we will do everything we can to win hockey games. It is just a matter of finding the right pieces to fit the puzzle.”
