By: Jake Ferraro | Follow me on Twitter/X @18Jxxx18
The 2025-26 Maine Mariners season ended tough with a Game 7 loss to the Wheeling Nailers in the second round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. However, the Mariners’ win in their first playoff series in franchise history has the team and fans excited for next season. The Mariners will begin their 2026-27 season against the Worcester Railers at DCU Center on Oct. 17. The Mariners’ home opener at Cross Insurance Arena will be against the Railers, exactly seven days later, after the season opener.
However, before the first games of the new season arrive in October, the Mariners have offseason work to do. Today, the Mariners made their team’s protected list for 2026. The protected list is the first phase of a three-step offseason process in which a team can protect playing rights through the signing period. The list doesn’t include players on American Hockey League or National Hockey League contracts and is not equal to a signing. While a protected list may exceed 20 players, the Mariners announced that 19 players were added to the team’s protected list.
Twelve Forwards
Ben Allison, Max Andreev, Robert Cronin, Wyllum Deveaux, Shawn Element, Linus Hemstrom, Jacob Hudson, Zach Jordan, Xander Lamppa, Mason Primeau, Antonio Venuto, Sebastian Vidmar
Six Defenseman
Nick Anderson, Jaxon Bellamy, Owen Gallatin, Dylan MacKinnon, Andrew Nielsen, Michael Underwood
Brad Arvanitis was the only goaltender named to the Mariners’ protected list.
Teams are allowed to protect as many players as they wish, provided the players protected meet the guidelines defined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Professional Hockey Players’ Association and the ECHL, which state that teams shall retain the rights to each player that:
1. Signed an SPC (Standard Player Contract) in 2025-26 with the Member, and has not been traded or released, OR
2. Signed an SPC in 2025-26, and was recalled to the NHL/AHL or an IIHF team, and has not been traded or released, OR
3. Had received a Qualifying Offer last Summer for the current Season, DID NOT sign an SPC, and has not been traded or released, OR
4. Has been suspended by the Member or the League, and has not been traded or released, OR
5. Signed an SPC on or after the day of the 2025-26 regular season, then subsequently signed an NHL/AHL contract, and has not been traded or released, OR
6. Has executed the ECHL Retirement Form, and has not been traded or released.
The ECHL announced that teams must complete all Future Consideration trades by June 20 at 3 p.m. ET, and that teams must submit their Season-Ending Roster by June 22 at 3 p.m. ET. Season-ending rosters may include up to 20 players, and they cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract in 2025-26.
The Mariners’ Protected List, now finalized, concludes an important offseason task the team needed to complete. The Mariners were very selective of who to put on their Protected List, which included key players from the 2025-26 season. One of whom was Andreev, who was tied for the most points on the team this season with 62, and his 43 assists led the team as well.
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