The Atlanta Gladiators announced Tuesday that they have traded the rights to forward Alex Guptill to the Rapid City Rush in exchange for the rights to forward Lindsay Sparks.
Sparks, 27, who is currently attending training camp with the Gladiators’ AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, started the beginning of last season with the Tucson Roadrunners of the AHL and Rapid City Rush of the ECHL. The Oakville, ON native earned four points (1-3-4) in 22 games in his first AHL stint for Tucson while he collected 26 points (12-14-26) in just 23 games with Rapid City. The 5-foot-9, 176-pound forward ended the season with HC Bolzano of the Austrian League (EBEL) registering two assists in four regular season games and four points (3-1-4) in nine postseason contests. During a four-year professional tenure thus far, Sparks has amassed 148 points (57-91-148) in 196 games in the ECHL with Fort Wayne, South Carolina, Greenville, Cincinnati, Missouri, Orlando and Rapid City. Before turning pro in 2013, Sparks spent four seasons at the NCAA’s University of Michigan notching 35 points (17-18-35) in 83 games for the Wolverines.
Guptill, 25, engineered seven points (1-6-7) in 20 games for the Gladiators after he was acquired via trade from the Indy Fuel near the trade deadline last year. The Burlington, ON native and former teammate of Sparks for three seasons at Michigan, skated for four separate ECHL teams during the 2016-17 campaign scoring 29 points (13-16-29) in 58 games.
The Atlanta Gladiators 15th anniversary season kicks off at the Infinite Energy Arena on Friday, October 20th against the Florida Everblades at 7:35 PM. For ticket package information, visit the official team website at www.atlantagladiators.com or call the main office line at 770-497-5100.
The Gladiators are members of the ECHL, the nation’s premier "AA" hockey league. All home games are played at the 11,355-seat Infinite Energy Arena, located just off I-85 on Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth – where parking is always free. The Gladiators have established an unrivaled commitment to excellence, maintaining a distinctive reputation for affordable and family-friendly sports entertainment and consistently ranked as one of the top “Things To Do” in the Atlanta area and across the North Georgia region.
For all the latest team news, contests, and more visit AtlantaGladiators.com, or “like” the Gladiators on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AtlantaGladiators), follow the team on Twitter (www.twitter.com/ATLGladiators), Instagram (www.instagram.com/atlgladiators) or Snapchat (www.snapchat.com) at "gladshockey".
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