The ECHL is not a movie. It is not “Jaws.” Though, some games resemble the plot.
The Railers announced five more signings Wednesday. To paraphrase Chief Martin Brody, they may need a bigger boat.
Worcester has inked two new players and three returnees. The Railers are up to 19 players under contract, although none are guaranteed to be in the opening night lineup. Worcester will also be getting AHL contracted players from Springfield before the season begins.
Forward Jordan Kaplan, goaltender William Lavalliere and defenseman Cam McDonald are the familiar faces. Veteran forward Tyson Fawcett comes over from Adirondack and defenseman Will van der Veen has been signed out of Evansville of the SPHL.
A couple more signings might happen but they will not include either Drew or Anthony Callin, two of the best players in team history. Anthony will be playing for Savannah and Drew is checking on employment options outside of pro hockey.
“Some times people just want to see what else is out there,” Railers GM-coach Nick Tuzzolino said.
Kaplan is actually a re-re-returnee. When the team brought him back at the end of last season it was his third different time on the roster. Tuzzolino had traded him to Wheeling last September and Kaplan did not thrive there, or in Cincinnati where he later wound up.
“The trade I made,” Tuzzolino said, “I would have done differently.”
Kaplan has played his best hockey for the Railers. His top pro season was here in 2024-25 when he had 49 points and 108 PIM in 68 games. He was 1-5-6 in nine games with the Railers during their late-season hot streak last season. Kaplan and Tuzzolino have a connection beyond Worcester.
They were together in Savannah in 2023-24, Kaplan as a player, Tuzzolino as a coach.
“He doesn’t necessarily wind up in Worcester,” Tuzzolino said, “but he winds up with me.”
There is a comfort level with the connection, Tuzzolino added, saying, “He can play his way, do his thing. I think the trade took away some confidence. You play for what the coach wants, not your skill set.”
Lavalliere is slated to be the team’s third goaltender. The Railers expect to be getting help from its affiliates in that critical position. Parker Gahagen, who played very well here last season, has signed an AHL deal with Springfield so is in the mix.
Thomas Gale, the former Holy Cross standout goaltender who was excellent at the end of last season, has signed a two-way contract with Rockford of the AHL.
Fawcett is 33, a veteran headed into his 13th pro season. He spent last year with Adirondack and has some interesting facts connected with that long career.
He stands 5-foot-6 and would officially be the shortest player in Worcester hockey history, the third named Tyson to complete the connections. Tyson Nash played for the IceCats, Tyson Sexsmith for the Sharks.
Although Fawcett has skated for teams nicknamed the Crushers and the Beast, he is not a big PIM guy but has been very durable. In the last three seasons Fawcett has played in 213 of a possible 216 games, and he spent the 2015-16 season as a teammate of assistant coach Chris Rumble with the ECHL Evansville Icemen.
Tuzzolino said that Fawcett reminds him of ex-Railer Griffin Loughran and his veteran experience should help some of Worcester’s younger players get better.
McDonald had an under-the-radar season last year, mostly because it took him almost all year to score a goal. His empty netter on April 15 was his first in 95 games for Worcester going back to 2024-25.
The Alaska native came to the Railers as a Bridgeport signing that season and scored an AHL goal there. However, he went almost two full ECHL seasons without one. A more significant number is his plus-minus figure. McDonald was minus-16 as a rookie, plus-9 last season.
“He has learned more and more about how to defend,” Tuzzolino said. “He’ll have better offensive numbers, but it won’t affect how he plays defensively.”
Van der Veen is young, big, local and a right-hand shot. He stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 230, a native of Duxbury and product of St. Anselm. Van der Veen was part of last season’s Evansville team that won the SPHL playoff championship along with Matthew Hobbs, another new Railers signee.
Lincoln Hatten played for Evansville as did Connor Federkow so there has been a connection with the Railers.
“It’s a little bit of a coincidence,” Tuzzolino said “but they are a winning team.”
Van der Veen also played four games for ECHL Tulsa last season. He was in 53 of the Thunderbolts 58 regular-season games and played in all 12 post-season matches on their way to the President’s Cup.
He and Hobbs were two of the Bolts’ top three PIM players last season. Hobbs had 140, van der Veen 98. That helped Evansville win a title. The Railers are hoping for similar results this year.
