DULUTH, Ga. – The Atlanta Gladiators announced Wednesday that the team has traded the negotiating rights of forward Phil Lane to the Greenville Swamp Rabbits to complete the March 5th deal that brought Branden Troock to the team.
“It’s tough to give up the rights to try and re-sign a player like Phil Lane, but he will become a free agent at some point and the chance of losing him for nothing was something we didn’t want to risk,” said Team President Scott Henrichsen. “We knew Lane was going to be a veteran at the end of the season not allowing us to protect him and we now have a valuable asset in Troock moving forward that also played a huge roll in our return to the playoffs.”
Troock, 24, scored 10 points (1g, 9a) in 10 games for the Gladiators after the forward notched 37 points (16g-21a) in 35 games for Greenville during the 2017-18 campaign. The Edmonton, AB native has been protected by the team and is expected to receive a qualifying offer ensuring that if he plays in the ECHL for the 2018-19 season it will be in Atlanta.
Lane, 26, earned 57 points in 62 games for the Gladiators last season. The Rochester, NY native skated in his 260th professional game last year giving him veteran status. The forward will become a restricted free agent on August 1st and if not signed by August 31st, an unrestricted free agent. The Swamp Rabbits now have exclusive negotiating rights in the meantime.
The 16th season of Atlanta Gladiators hockey begins at the Infinite Energy Arena on Friday, October 19th against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at 7:35 PM. For ticket 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 10,867-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".
-###-
Adirondack Thunder
Allen Americans
Atlanta Gladiators
Bloomington Bison
Cincinnati Cyclones
Florida Everblades
Fort Wayne Komets
Greensboro Gargoyles
Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Idaho Steelheads
Indy Fuel
Iowa Heartlanders
Jacksonville Icemen
Kalamazoo Wings
Kansas City Mavericks
Maine Mariners
Norfolk Admirals
Orlando Solar Bears
Rapid City Rush
Reading Royals
Savannah Ghost Pirates
South Carolina Stingrays
Tahoe Knight Monsters
Toledo Walleye
Trois-Rivières Lions
Tulsa Oilers
Utah Grizzlies
Wheeling Nailers
Wichita Thunder
Worcester Railers