Solar Bears sign Andrew Sturtz

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Solar Bears have agreed to terms with forward Andrew Sturtz on an ECHL Standard Player Contract for the 2022-23 season.

Sturtz, 27, last played professional hockey during the 2020-21 campaign with the Rapid City Rush, where he collected 28 points (10g-18a) in 33 games. The 5-foot-8, 185-pound forward has 34 points (12g-22a) in 44 career ECHL games with Rapid City, Maine and Brampton, and has 11 points (4g-7a) in 35 career American Hockey League games with the Belleville Senators.

Prior to turning pro, the Buffalo, New York native played three seasons of college hockey at Penn State University, where he helped the Nittany Lions program capture a Big Ten conference championship in 2016-17, and collected 104 points (54g-50a) in 111 games.

Sturtz enjoyed a prolific two-year Junior A career with the Carleton Place Canadiens of the Central Canada Hockey League, helping his club to CCHL championships in 2014 and 2015 while finishing as runner-up for the Royal Bank Cup as the top Junior A team in Canada. Sturtz amassed 176 points (81g-95a) in 116 games for Carleton Place, and was named to the CCHL First All-Star Teams in both of his seasons with the club. He also garnered CCHL MVP honors in 2013-14 while he was named the top Junior A player in all of Canada; the following season, he was also named the MVP of the CCHL playoffs.

Orlando’s preseason roster now includes the following players:

Forwards:Braydon BarkerMatthew BarnabyTyler BirdLuke BokaRoss OlssonDante SheriffAndrew SturtzShawn Szydlowski

Defensemen:Michael BrodzinskiJimmy MazzaLuke McInnisAndrew McLeanSteven Oleksy

Goaltenders:Brad BaroneBrandon Halverson

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