For immediate release

For more information, contact: Joel Silverberg, Director of Broadcasting (865) 525-7825, joel@knoxvilleicebears.com.

The Knoxville Ice Bears have confirmed the team’s protected list for the 2026-27 SPHL season. The list includes 13 players, as permitted by the league that the Ice Bears will retain the rights to moving into next year.

The list includes forwards Jimmy Soper, Blake Tosto, Ryan Kuzmich, Dawson McKinney, Davide Gaeta, Tim Kent and Eric Olson, defensemen Tim Faulkner, Robin Liljekvist, Brendan Dowler, Billy Roche and Ryan Orgel, and goaltender Stephen Mundinger.

Soper has served as Knoxville’s captain since arriving in Tennessee ahead of the 2024-25 season. Under his leadership, the Ice Bears have won three playoff series over the past two years, including a run to the President’s Cup Finals in 2025. He has 19 points in 15 playoff games as an Ice Bear.

Tosto was signed during the offseason after playing 39 games for Pensacola in 2024-25. He appeared in 55 games for Knoxville last season, scoring 12 goals and adding 18 assists. His power play goal in game two of the opening round of the playoffs helped Knoxville rally against Huntsville and ultimately complete a sweep of the Havoc.

Kuzmich enjoyed a strong rookie campaign in his first full pro season, leading the Ice Bears with 20 goals while also chipping in 12 assists. He scored two hat tricks during the regular season and was named the SPHL Player of the Week for Feb. 9-15 after compiling six points in three games against Pensacola and Huntsville. He scored the game-winning goal in game two of Knoxville’s sweep against Huntsville.

McKinney just completed his third pro season. His entire SPHL tenure has been in Knoxville, but the Binbrook, Ont. native also enjoyed stints in the ECHL this year as well. Despite only appearing in 24 games for Knoxville, McKinney scored seven goals and had 16 points. He also totaled six points in seven playoff games.

Gaeta made his SPHL debut this season after previously spending time in his home nation of Switzerland and the FPHL. He appeared in 43 games as an Ice Bears, scoring ten goals and adding nine assists. He contributed two game-winning goals as well, most notably breaking a tie with a late third period goal against Birmingham on Dec. 19.

Kent found a home in Knoxville after stints with Fayetteville and Birmingham this season. Overall, he appeared in 42 games in the SPHL this year, scoring 14 goals and totaling 33 points. He also spent time in Germany this season. As an Ice Bear, Kent had five goals and eight assists in 17 games. One of his biggest performances of the year came in game three of the President’s Cup semifinals when he scored a hat trick against Peoria.

Olson returned to Knoxville for his second pro season, appearing in just 27 games due to multiple call ups to the ECHL that saw him make 21 appearances for Orlando and Tahoe. He returned to Knoxville in March and finished with four goals and seven assists. His first career two-goal game in November was punctuated with a game-winning overtime goal in Huntsville on Thanksgiving Day.

Faulkner was acquired by Knoxville in a trade with Pensacola in early March. He played 54 games in the SPHL this year, nine of those with the Ice Bears. The experienced defenseman has played 209 career games in the SPHL and saw action in all seven playoff games for Knoxville last season.

Liljekvist made his SPHL debut this year after spending his previous professional and junior years in his home country of Sweden. He appeared in 46 games this year, scoring two goals, but his biggest moment came in game one of the President’s Cup Playoffs when he blasted a slap shot for the game-winning goal in double overtime to help the Ice Bears sweep the Havoc.

One of the longest-tenured Ice Bears on the roster, Dowler has appeared in 119 regular season games as an Ice Bears over the past three years, appearing in only 17 games last season due to multiple stints in the ECHL. Known for his toughness and grit on the blue line, Dowler was loaned in January and remained in the ECHL until rejoining the Ice Bears in Peoria for the President’s Cup semifinals.

Roche was acquired in a trade with Roanoke in November and played 27 games as an Ice Bear, scoring five goals and adding seven assists. His shorthanded goal against Macon on Nov. 28 proved to be the game-winner in a 2-1 victory. He also appeared in two playoff games.

Orgel played 14 games for Knoxville before making his way back up to the ECHL, where he served stints for four different clubs. He last played for Knoxville on Dec. 30.

Mundinger has made 70 appearances for Knoxville over the past two seasons. The third-year pro set career-highs this season with a 2.46 goals against average, a .928 save percentage and four shutouts. He was named the SPHL Player of the Week in early November for a two-game weekend sweep in which he stopped 70 total shots. He became just the eighth goalie in SPHL history to record ten career shutouts.

The Ice Bears will open their 25th season in franchise history in October.

ABOUT The Knoxville Ice Bears: The Knoxville Ice Bears organization began in 2002 and was an inaugural charter member of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) in 2004. As four-time SPHL Champions and five-time regular season champions, the Ice Bears are an experienced and established organization, offering the city and its visitors a balanced product of highlight-reel hockey, unique and exciting intermission activity and endless fan interaction, presenting the most affordable, family-friendly way to enjoy sports and entertainment. Season, Partial Season and Flex Tickets are now on sale. For more information, visit www.knoxvilleicebears.com or call (865) 525-7825.

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