ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Solar Bears, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning, announced Sunday (Feb. 23) the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL) have signed forward Spencer Kersten to an AHL contract and loaned him to the Orlando Solar Bears.
Kersten, 24, appeared in five games scoring one goal with the Syracuse Crunch this season after signing a Professional Tryout Contract (PTO) with the Crunch on February 6. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound forward also skated in two AHL games with the Belleville Senators this season.
Kersten was named ECHL Rookie of the Month for January following a torrid scoring pace that led him to the top spot in the ECHL in both rookie points (46) and goals (22) at the time of his tryout contract with the Crunch. Even after his three week stint in the AHL, Kersten is still third in ECHL rookie points and tied for second in goals.
The Waterloo, Ontario native was signed by Orlando following the completion of his college season in 2024 and went on to score six points in 10 games in the regular season and nine points in 11 games in the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs. His six goals scored in the playoffs were the second-most in a single playoff year in Solar Bears history.
Prior to his professional career, Kersten appeared in 36 games during the 2023-24 season at Bowling Green State University, scoring 16 points (9g-7a). The 5-foot-10, 187-pound forward played at Princeton University from 2019-2023, scoring 38 points (15g-23a) in 93 games, while captaining the 2022-23 team.
During his time at Princeton, Kersten was a three-time Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) All-Academic player.
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