Coachella Valley Firebirds add four new players to roster, including team's first goalie

Shad Powers, Palm Springs Desert Sun
·2 min read
Goalkeeper Callum Booth is one of four players to join the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Tuesday. He played part of last year with the Charlotte Checkers.
Goalkeeper Callum Booth is one of four players to join the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Tuesday. He played part of last year with the Charlotte Checkers.

Like a puck gathering up ice shavings as it slides across the rink, the Coachella Valley Firebirds are adding bits and pieces to their roster a little at a time.

The team announced four new Firebirds players on Tuesday, bringing the total to nine men who will definitely be donning the dark blue and orange Firebirds jersey when the season starts Oct. 16.

The full roster, which likely will be completed by the time the team's training camp starts on Monday, will consist of 22 players.

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Here are the newest four Firebirds:

Jeremy McKenna, forward: The 23-year-old McKenna joins the Firebirds after spending the majority of last season with the Newfoundland Growlers in the ECHL. He also has AHL experience, playing 44 games with the Toronto Marlies over the past two seasons. He is a native of Canmore, Alberta, Canada.

Forward Jeremy McKenna has been added to the Coachella Valley Firebirds roster to start the 2022-23 season.
Forward Jeremy McKenna has been added to the Coachella Valley Firebirds roster to start the 2022-23 season.

Tristan Mullin, forward: Mullin has 68 AHL games under his belt, all with the Cleveland Monsters over the past two seasons. He is a Cartwright, Manitoba, Canada, native who started his college career at Cornell before finishing at the University of Vermont.

Left wing Tristan Mullin has been added to the Coachella Valley Firebirds roster to start the 2022-23 AHL season.
Left wing Tristan Mullin has been added to the Coachella Valley Firebirds roster to start the 2022-23 AHL season.

Jake McLaughlin, defenseman: McLaughlin was part of an ECHL championship team last year, hoisting the Kelly Cup as a member of the Florida Everblades (cool team name by the way). The 6-foot-2, 190-pound right-hander is from Hinsdale, Illinois, and played 28 AHL games with the Henderson Silver Knights and 13 more with the Milwaukee Admirals last season.

Defenseman Jake McLaughlin, seen here with the Milwaukee Admirals, has been added to the Coachella Valley Firebirds roster.
Defenseman Jake McLaughlin, seen here with the Milwaukee Admirals, has been added to the Coachella Valley Firebirds roster.

Callum Booth, goalkeeper: Booth is the only goalie currently on the Firebirds roster and he spent the majority of last season with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL racking up an 8-10-2 record with a 2.73 goal against average. The Montreal native has appeared in 17 career AHL games with stops in Charlotte and Providence.

The Coachella Valley Firebirds, an AHL affiliate of the NHL's Seattle Kraken, play their first-ever game on Oct. 16 in Calgary against the Calgary Wranglers. The team will play 22 games away from its new desert home, before opening up the 10,000-seat Acrisure Arena for hockey on Dec. 18.

Shad Powers is a sports columnist for The Desert Sun. Have a question about the Firebirds or the AHL or Acrisure Arena? Shoot him an e-mail at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Coachella Valley Firebirds add four new players to roster, including team's first goalie