Atlanta Signs Pair of Forwards

The Atlanta Gladiators announced Tuesday they have signed forwards Nathan Todd and Luke Sandler.

Todd, 21, started last season with the Quad City Mallards of the ECHL where he managed four assists in 12 games as a rookie in professional hockey. The Kemptville, ON native then finished the year at CIS’ Carleton University amassing two points (1-1-2) in 10 games played. The 6-foot, 176-pound forward earned a seven-game stint in the American Hockey League (AHL) after a completing a two-year tenure in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Ottawa 67’s. In a total of 116 OHL contests, Todd registered 97 points (36-61-97). During his final season in major junior, Todd notched 50 points in 53 games in Ottawa.

“Nathan is a kid that had a very successful junior career and got his feet wet in the pro game last season,” said Head Coach and General Manager of Hockey Operations Chuck Weber. “I expect him to come into camp, learn from his experiences last season and put in the work for a success showing. He has a lot of potential to give this club an offensive spark and we’re going to try and tap into that.”

Sandler, 24, skated in 17 games last season for the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL where he collected two points (1-1-2) and 95 penalty minutes. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound forward also earned 22 points (13-9-22) and 80 penalty minutes in 32 games split between the SPHL’s Evansville Thunderbolts and Knoxville Ice Bears. The Chicago, IL native has amassed 51 points (30-21-51) in 80 SPHL games to go along with 236 penalty minutes over the course of two seasons. The third-year-pro also spent one season with the NCAA’s Lake Superior State University after a four-year stop in junior hockey in the USHL, BCHL and NAHL.

“Sandler, we expect to provide a lot of sandpaper,” said weber. “Luke is a different situation as we won’t need to tell him to finish his hits because we know he will. He is a great character guy that will defend his teammates, embraces the role he is given and can play all three forward positions, you can’t have enough guys like that on your team.”

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". -###-