( Photo Credit: ECHL Maine Mariners )

By: Tom LaPlante | Follow me on Twitter @tlaplante7

With less than two weeks until the Maine Mariners kick off their third ECHL season, the Boston Bruins ‘AA’ affiliate was very busy over the last week, plus with player signings and season ticket holder events. The club kicked off last week by announcing they were bringing back two former Mariners in Alex Kile and Lewis Zerter-Gossage and then finished the week by signing Jacksonville Icemen defenseman Michael Kim. Monday saw the release of the up-to-now complete training camp roster. This roster will, of course, change over the next few days as players are added from NHL and AHL camps.

The busy week kicked off with the announcement that the very first ECHL Maine Mariner, Alex Kile, would be returning to Portland after playing last season in Florida. Along with being the first play signed in club history, Kile has scored many important goals over the first two seasons in Maine, and he is fourth in team history with 71 points scored and second in game-winning goals with seven. Kile brings tenacity and skill that endears him to fans and teammates alike, and his veteran presence should be felt by the younger Mariners on the roster.

Lewis Zerter-Gossage is another familiar face that was brought back to the fold, albeit not quite as well known to Mariner fans as Alex Kile. He played 13 games for the Mariners in 2019-2020 while he was the property of the Hartford Wolf Pack, the previous AHL affiliate of the Mariners. Before signing with Hartford in 2018, Zerter-Gossage played at Harvard University, where he was the captain during his senior season. Michael Kim is another New England college player joining the Mariners. Kim played his college hockey at Boston College and, before that, was a Junior Bruin. Kim spent all of last season playing for Jacksonville of the ECHL, where he appeared in 70 of 72 games for the Icemen, putting up three goals and 19 assists for 22 points.

All these signings led to the big reveal that all Mariners fans were looking for: the Training Camp Roster. Virtually all of the players on the roster were signed during the offseason, and the signing was reported here on the blog, but click on the link above to see the entire roster. The most exciting part of the roster is the goaltending, where the Mariners only made one signing, but there are two well-regarded Bruins prospects at camp this fall in Callum Booth and Jeremy Brodeur. The trifecta of Booth, Brodeur, and Mariners signing Zachary Bouthillier should make the Mariners very stout in the net. Thus far, there are 23 players on the camp roster, most of whom are former Mariners or opponents from the first two seasons in the ECHL.

We are definitely close when the advertising board, I mean ice, is ready to go at the Cross Insurance Arena. In previous seasons the Mariners had practiced at a smaller ice facility in Portland, but all their practice and testing sessions are being held at Cross Arena. On Tuesday, October 19th, the Mariners will have a night practice that will be open for season ticket holders, and the team will be introduced then as well. As you probably know by now, opening night is October 22nd against Worcester; keep your eyes on the blog as I will bring you updates from camp, the roster announcement, and other news as we get closer and closer to puck drop on season three of Mariners hockey.