ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Solar Bears, ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, announced today the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL) have loaned forwards Spencer Kersten and Reece Newkirk and defenseman Chris Harpur to the Orlando Solar Bears. Syracuse has also released goaltender Ethan Langenegger from a professional tryout contract and returned him to the Solar Bears.

Kersten, 25, was the second Solar Bear in history to be named to the ECHL All-Rookie Team during the 2024-25 season, joining Joseph Gareffa, who tallied 21 points in 41 games during the 2020-21 season. 

The Waterloo, ON native had a historic first full professional season, scoring 55 points to set a new Solar Bears rookie single-season scoring record, passing T.J. Foster from the 2015-16 campaign.

Kersten signed a one-year AHL contract with the Crunch in September.

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.

Newkirk, 24, has scored eight points (5g-3a) in 10 games with Orlando last season and three points (3a) in six games with the Syracuse Crunch. 

Newkirk also appeared in 13 ECHL games last season for the Florida Everblades, posting 10 points (2g-8a) and 17 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL, tallying three points (1g-2a). The Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan native signed a one-year AHL contract with Syracuse in September.

In total, Newkirk has appeared in 125 ECHL games over four seasons, scoring 96 points (44g-52a) with Worcester, Florida, and Orlando. Newkirk also has 68 AHL games over four seasons with Bridgeport, Springfield, and Syracuse, scoring 16 points (3g-13a). 

Prior to his professional career, the 6-foot, 179-pound forward played four seasons of junior hockey for the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Hockey League (WHL) scoring 162 points (69g-93a) in 205 career games.

Harpur, 28, has appeared in 154 ECHL games, scoring 33 points (7g-26a) and earned 121 penalty minutes. In 30 career games with the Crunch over two seasons, Harpur tallied seven assists and 18 penalty minutes. Harpur was signed to a one-year, AHL contract with Syracuse in June of 2025.

The 6-foot-3, 201-pound defenseman earned 58 points (10g-48a) in 161 games over five seasons at Niagara University. The Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario native set the program record for most games played in school history, while captaining the roster during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 season. 

Before entering the college ranks, Harpur played Junior A in the British Columbia Hockey League with the Cowichan Valley Capitals and Victoria Grizzlies, where he collected 74 points (12g-62a) in 168 combined games.

Langenegger, 24, joins the Solar Bears for his first full professional season. The Kamloops, B.C. native made his professional debut last season with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL following the conclusion of his five-year collegiate career at Clarkston University. His 2.14 Goals Against Average for the Golden Knights was tied for the seventeenth-best in the nation and earned his ECAC Goaltender of the Year honors.

In five seasons of college hockey competition with Clarkston (2024-25) and Lake Superior State University (2020-2024), the 6-foot, 187-pound netminder appeared in 120 games, posting a 54-54-6 record, a 2.60 goals against average, and a 91.1 save percentage.  

Prior to his collegiate career, Langenegger played three seasons of junior hockey with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the BCHL. He recorded a 42-34-4 total, with a 2.99 goals against average and 90.8 save percentage. 

Solar Bears 2025 Preseason Roster:

FORWARDS: Anthony Bardaro, Tyler Bird, Andrew Bruder, Tyler Drevitch, Carson Focht, Spencer Kersten, Cole Kodsi, Peter Laviolette III, Aaron Luchuk, Jarid Lukosevicius, Ryan Naumovski, Reece Newkirk, Skate Skalde (TO), Keanan Stewart, Alex Tonge

DEFENSEMEN: Nick Anderson, Luke Bast, Phil Beaulieu, J.C. Brassard, Logan Britt, Davis Bunz, Luke Farthing (TO), Tony Follmer, Jake Hamilton (TO), Chris Harpur, John Macdonald (TO), Cody Schiavon

GOALTENDERS: Alex Aslandis (TO), Jon Gillies, Ethan Langenegger