BEVERLY, Mass. — Former Endicott men's ice hockey student-athlete Tommy Besinger '19 (Milton, Mass.) has signed with the ECHL's Atlanta Gladiators.
"Tommy is a good, young, hard-working kid," said Gladiators head coach Jeff Pyle. "It's nice to have a right-hander with skill and speed. That is hard to find right now. We're excited to see him develop."
Besinger spent the majority of his 2020-2021 season in both the Southern Professional Hockey League and the ECHL. Besinger, who played mostly as a center, appeared in two games with the Utah Grizzlies, and 30 games with the Huntsville Havoc in the SPHL.
Besinger helped the Havoc reach the playoffs with his six goals and 14 assists, putting up an additional assist in two playoff games.
Besinger originally signed with the Gladiators in 2020-21, which marked his third team in the professional ranks at the time, but the organization opted out for the season due to COVID-19.
"We're glad to be able to bring Tommy back," said Gladiators team president Jerry James. "We feel like he's earned the chance to compete at this level, and we're excited to see what he can do with us."
During his four years at Endicott (2015-19), Besinger found the back of the net 33 times and dished out 71 assists for 104 points. He also registered 14 power play goals and six game-winning goals in his career.
Besinger still ranks in the top-10 in the following categories: points (104, 4th), points per game (1.46, 1st), goals (33, 6th), goals per game (0.46, 8th), game-winning goals (6, t-2nd), power play goals (14, 4th), assists (71, 3rd), and assists per game (1.00, 1st).
"I'm excited to head to Atlanta," said Besinger. "I can't wait to get out there and get the season started."
The Gladiators open their 2021 campaign against the Orlando Solar Bears on Friday, October 29th, at 7:30 PM at Gas South Arena.
MORE ABOUT THE ECHL
Began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 26 teams in 19 states and two Canadian provinces for its 33rd season in 2020-21. There have been 698 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including 20 who made their NHL debuts in the 2020-21 season. The ECHL had affiliations with 25 of the 31 NHL teams in 2020-21, marking the 24th consecutive season that the league had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com as well as on Twitter and Facebook.
(major portions of this press release courtesy of the Gwinnett Daily Post)
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
