Roadrunners Announce Training Camp Roster
Tucson, Arizona – The Tucson Roadrunners have announced their initial Training Camp Roster as the team practices at Tucson Arena this week.
The Roadrunners will travel to Henderson for preseason action Friday at 6 p.m. before the Tucson Arena hosts NHL preseason action with the Arizona Coyotes and the Anaheim Ducks Saturday at 3 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at TucsonRoadrunners.com/Yotes.
17 of the 31 players are returning from last year’s Roadrunners team. Seven players on the roster have appeared against the Roadrunners in previous seasons for other Pacific Division teams.
Players in bold are returning from the 2022-2023 Tucson Roster
Players in italics have appeared against the Roadrunners
Forwards:
#7 – Michael Lombardi – Scored first professional goal in first professional game with Roadrunners on April 15, 2023 after winning NCAA Championship at Quinnipiac the week before.
#13 – Nathan Smith – 12 goals last year with the Roadrunners and also appeared in four games with the Arizona Coyotes.
#16 – Ryan McGregor – 12 goals with Roadrunners in 2022-2023, enters fourth year with Tucson and in Coyotes organization.
#18 – Alex Whelan – Split last year in American Hockey League with Hartford and Cleveland.
#20 – Micah Miller – Signed to two-year AHL contract by Roadrunners last March after completing college at St. Cloud State
#21 – Milos Kelemen – 14 goals last year with Roadrunners and also appeared in 14 games with the Arizona Coyotes in his first season in North America.
#22 – Ben McCartney – Born in 2001, McCartney was named alternate captain for the Roadrunners last year at 22. He was drafted by the Coyotes in 2020.
#23 – Justin Kirkland – Alternate captain last year with San Diego. He has faced Tucson with San Diego and Stockton totaling six goals and eight assists for 14 points in 17 games.
#24 – Jan Jenik – Fourth year with Tucson; had seven goals and 16 assists for 23 points with Roadrunners last year and also appeared in two games for the Coyotes.
#26 – Travis Barron – Entering third season with Roadrunners and was signed to one-year two-way contract by Coyotes in offseason after leading Tucson with eight fights last season.
#28 – Curtis Douglas – Acquired by Coyotes from Toronto last November, joined Roadrunners and fought six times finishing second behind Mike Carcone with 119 penalty minutes.
#35 – Aku Raty – Fifth round draft pick of the Coyotes in 2019 begins first season in North America at 22.
#36 – Hunter Drew – With San Diego last four seasons, appearing in 19 games against Tucson. He has finished in top five in American Hockey League in penalty minutes in each of the last two seasons.
#39 – Cameron Hebig – Fourth year with the Roadrunners, has appeared in 161 of 176 total Tucson games since making his Roadrunners debut. Tucson is 15-6-2-0 when he scores a goal the last three seasons.
#41 – Austin Poganski – Advanced to Calder Cup Finals as a member of the Coachella Valley Firebirds last season where he appeared in 70 of 72 regular season games and 24 of 26 playoff games. 22 NHL games with Winnipeg and St. Louis
#43 – John Leonard – Seven goals and three assists for ten points in nine games against Tucson with Milwaukee and San Jose. Appeared in 64 NHL games with San Jose and Nashville.
#51 – Reece Vitelli – Second year with Roadrunners, appeared in 15 games last He signed with the Roadrunners last summer after leading the WHL’s Prince Albert Raiders in scoring with 25 goals and 26 assists for 51 points in 65 games during the 2021-2022 season.
#63 – Colin Theisen – Enters third season with Roadrunners and second full pro season after serving as Captain at Arizona State University in 2021-2022 after four years at Notre Dame.
#91 – Josh Doan – Appeared in 14 games last year and all three playoff games after joining Roadrunners and signing three-year entry level contract with Coyotes following college at Arizona State University where he was captain in 2022-2023 and totaled 16 goals and 22 assists for 38 points in 39 games.
Defense:
#3 – Peter Diliberatore – Spent last three seasons with Henderson Silver Knights after being drafted by Vegas in 2018.
#4 – Michael Kesselring – Made NHL debut with the Coyotes and appeared in nine games after March trade to organization and also totaled two goals and five assists for seven points ten regular season games with the Roadrunners.
#5 – Cam Crotty – Fourth year with Tucson and leads team with 164 games played since joining team. Was drafted by Arizona in 2017.
#6 -Tyson Helgesen – Split last year with Calgary in the AHL and Rapid City in the ECHL, was second on the Rush with 117 penalty minutes.
#17 – Anthony Firriolo – Appeared in five games last year with Jacksonville of the ECHL after four years of college at Army.
#44 – Steven Kampfer – 15 games with Roadrunners last season after March trade. Signed to two-way contract by Coyotes in June. Has appeared in 231 NHL games with Minnesota, Florida, Boston and the New York Rangers.
#52 – Vladislav Kolyachonok – Split last two seasons with Coyotes and Roadrunners appearing in 34 games with Arizona and 104 with Roadrunners, including 71 of 72 last year.
#64 – Patrik Koch – Signed by Coyotes in offseason after playing professional the last eight seasons in Europe. The Slovakia native played junior hockey in the USHL and NAHL in 2014-2015.
#79 – Montana Onyebuchi – He has one goal and five assists for six points in ten games and a plus-five against Tucson over the last two seasons and has also fought four times against the Roadrunners. He was fourth in the American Hockey League in penalty minutes during the 2021-2022 season with 137 in 46 games.
Goaltenders:
#30 – Jared Moe – Played the last four years at the University of Wisconsin; was drafted by Winnipeg in 2018.
#31 – Matthew Villalta – The 6-foot-4, 190-pound netminder has posted a record of 58-32-14 record, a .901 save percentage, a 3.04 Goals-Against-Average and two shutouts over the last four seasons with the AHL’s Ontario Reign.
#32 – Reid Cooper – 33-12-3 over the last three seasons at Curry College in Milton Massachusetts.
