WICHITA, Kan. (Oct. 18) – The Wichita Thunder, ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, AHL’s San Jose Barracuda and powered by Toyota, kicks off the 2024-25 season tonight against the Kansas City Mavericks.

Alex Colborn takes a look at this past offseason and previews what to expect for this season.

The Thunder will take the ice tonight for their 33rd season, facing off against the Kansas City Mavericks. Wichita is looking to capture its first-ever Kelly Cup Championship after finishing last in the Mountain Division with a 27-35-9-1 record a year ago. Tonight is the second-straight season that Wichita will host Kansas City for the season and home opener.

The Mavericks enters their 16th season. Last year, Kansas City reached the Kelly Cup Finals, where they lost to the Florida Everblades. The Mavericks boasted the best regular-season record in the ECHL at 54-12-4-2.

Wichita is 4-4-1-1 in season openers since joining the ECHL, but has lost back-to-back home openers. In home openers, Wichita is 2-4-1-1.

All-Time Series

Tonight’s game marks the 185th all-time regular season meeting between the Thunder and the Mavericks. Wichita holds a 90-71-24 all-time record against Kansas City, including 48-23-8 at home.

Head-to-Head Last Season

Wichita went 4-10-0-1 against Kansas City last season, including a 2-5-0-0 record at home. The Thunder won the final game of the regular

season 5-4 in overtime on March 10 at INTRUST Bank Arena. Wichita was outscored 70-42 in the series while going 7-for-29 (24.1%) on the power play and 37-for-50 (74%) on the penalty kill.

Roster Breakdown

Wichita will begin the season with 21 players: 12 forwards, seven defensemen, two goaltenders, and two players on reserve. The team has one player on 3-day IR and one on 14-day IR. The roster includes 12 players from Canada, eight from the U.S., and one from Czechia.

The Thunder have two players on NHL contracts. Forward Nolan Burke and defenseman Gannon Laroque, who played nine games with the Thunder last

season. Additionally, the Thunder have four players on AHL contracts. Forwards Joe Carroll, defenseman Jeremie Bucheler, and goaltenders Aaron Dell and Gabriel Carriere.

Wichita returns 14 players from last season, including five defensemen that (Dominic Dockery, Nicholas Favaro, Tyler Jette, Nolan Kneen, and Shane Kuzmeski), eight forwards (Peter Bates, Dillon Boucher, Jay Dickman, Ryan Finnegan, Declan Smith, Michal Stinil, Jake Wahlin, and Kobe Walker), and one goaltender, Trevor Gorsuch.

Twelve players on the opening night roster are rookies, including five forwards (Carter Jones, Aidan Litke, Parker Saretsky, Declan Smith, and Kobe Walker), six defensemen (Jeremie Bucheler, Nicholas Favaro, Tyler Jette, Gannon Laroque, T.J. Lloyd, and Nico Somerville), and one goaltender, Gabriel Carriere.

Key Players

Michal Stinil returns for his fourth professional season with the Thunder. The 25-year-old led the team with a career-high 32 goals.

Jay Dickman is coming off a career year, recording personal bests with 29 goals, 40 assists, and 69 points. He was tied for the league-lead in power play goals (15) and helped Wichita post the sixth-best power-play percentage in the league (23.0%).

Dillon Boucher returns for his second full professional season. He was second on the team in penalty minutes (96).

Peter Bates returns after a brief stint in Slovakia with HK Poprad. Before leaving in February, Bates led the team in goals (23), assists (27), and points (50).

Dominic Dockery enters his third season with the Thunder. He was named the 2023-24 PHPA Best Defensive Defenseman and led the team with 111 blocked shots while averaging over 18 minutes per game.

Aaron Dell brings valuable depth and leadership back to the ECHL. Dell, a familiar face for Thunder fans, played against Wichita with the Allen Americans in 2012-13 and 2014-15. He has appeared in 130 NHL games with the San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils, and Buffalo Sabres, posting a 50-50-13 record, a 2.92 goals-against average, and a .905 save percentage.

2024-25 SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

13X – Allen (7 Home, 6 Away)

10X – Kansas City (5 Home, 5 Away)

9X – Rapid City (3 Home, 6 Away)

9X – Utah (6 Home, 3 Away)

7X – Tulsa (3 Home, 4 Away)

6X – Tahoe (3 Home, 3 Away

6X – Iowa (3 Home, 3 Away)

4X – Idaho (2 Home, 2 Away)

3X – Worcester (3 Home)

2X – Indy (2 Away)

1X – Cincinnati (1 Away)

1X – Fort Wayne (1 Home)

1X – Toledo (1 Away)

Our home opener is tonight! Join us on Friday, October 18 as we kick off the season against the Kansas City Mavericks. Take advantage of our Opening Night four pack, which is four tickets and a $10 merch credit starting at just $80. Check out the promotional schedule HERE. Purchase tickets for any game HERE.

The 2024-25 schedule is now available. Start planning now as we get ready for our 33rd year in the Air Capital. Click HERE to learn more about the schedule and who we play.

Season tickets for the 2024-25 season are on sale. Save money by reserving your seats for all the fast-paced, hard-hitting action of every game. Click HERE to learn more.