Photo: Sean Flynn Photography/Quad City Mallards

The Quad City Mallards have submitted a 20-player season-ending roster to the ECHL, the Mallards announced today.

The Mallards’ roster is composed of 13 forwards: Grant Arnold, Connor Brown, Chris Francis, Nelson Gadoury, Justin Kovacs, Nolan LaPorte, Josh MacDonald, Jack Nevins, Kyle Novak, Michael Parks, Alex Petan, Nathan Todd and Sam Warning; six defensemen: Jace Coyle, Donnie Harris, Alexander Kuqali, Chris Leibinger, Andrew Panzarella and Mike Wilson; and one goaltender: C.J. Motte.

ECHL teams can place a maximum of 20 players on their season-ending rosters. Season-ending rosters cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract in 2016-17.

Each ECHL team is entitled to reserve rights to a maximum of eight players from its list of up to 20 by extending a qualifying offer no later than July 1. Of the eight qualified players, no more than four can be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the 2017-18 season). Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded. Teams are not required to extend a qualifying offer to players who sign a contract prior to July 1.

The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until August 1 at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action. Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a non-veteran player retain the rights to that qualified player for one season.

A team that extends a valid qualifying offer to a veteran player, or to a goaltender who has played more than 180 regular-season games, will retain the rights to that player until August 1. After August 1, if the veteran player or goaltender is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran or goaltender becomes a restricted free agent and is entitled to seek contract offers from other ECHL teams.  Restricted free agents may not be traded. When a restricted free agent receives a contract offer from a club other than the team with the player’s rights and the restricted free agent wishes to accept that offer, the restricted free agent and the offering team must, within 24 hours, notify the ECHL, the team with the player’s rights and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association. The club with the player’s rights has seven days after the date it is notified to exercise its right to match the contract offer.

If a restricted free agent is not signed to either an offer sheet or a contract by an ECHL team by August 31, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.

The Mallards will open their twenty-first season- and their fourth in the ECHL- on Friday, October 13 against the Toledo Walleye at the iWireless Center. Mallards 2017-18 season tickets are now available. Season ticket holders enjoy significant savings of the walk-up ticket price and receive a host of exclusive benefits. For more season ticket information, fans can contact the Mallards at 309-277-1364 or info@myqcmallards.com.