K-Wings roster continues to grow

KALAMAZOO- As the Kalamazoo Wings inch closer to training camp, their roster continues to grow.

Announcing the addition of three more players for the upcoming season, the K-Wings will be bringing back two more familiar faces and a new one.

Forward Justin Taylor will be returning for this third season as a K-Wing. After earning the K-Wings Rookie of the Year two seasons ago, Taylor picked up where he left off last season by scoring 23 goals and 23 assists in 70 games. The 23 goals tied for second among K-Wing players.

Taylor received the Booster Club Appreciation Award last season for his commitment to the community by making the most public appearances of any member of the team with 43.

“He (Taylor) found ways to contribute despite battling through injuries down the final stretch of the season,” said K-Wings head coach Nick Bootland in a statement released by the team. “With Justin’s growth over the past two seasons, our expectations of his role will increase this season.”

Nick Sirota, forward, will be entering his second season with the K-Wings. Last season, Sirota knocked in 22 goals and added 23 assists. In his final 10 games of the season, Sirota scored nine goals and carried that scoring touch into the postseason where he scored seven goals in 14 games.

“Nick produces wherever he has been and we feel he has the potential to be a point-a-night player,” Bootland said. “His offensive spark through the last month of the regular season continued in the playoffs and showed us what he is capable of.”

After spending the last seven seasons playing in Europe, Bret Lysak returns to the states to begin his first season in Kalamazoo.

Last season playing for Graz EC in Austria’s premier league, Lysak scored 17 goals and 29 assists in 48 games. Lysak was a second round draft pick for the Carolina Hurricanes in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and played for the Hurricanes in the 2002-03 season.

“Brett is a player that brings top-level experience from overseas and in North America,” Bootland said. “His skill level and his past performances make him a player that can compete on our top line.”

Lysak spent five seasons with the Regina Pats of the WHL as well as four seasons in the AHL and one in the ECHL, playing for the Florida Everblades.

With the signings, the K-Wings roster is now up to 10.

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