Connor Lockhart and Wyatt McLeod join the club for its inaugural season.
Bloomington Bison general manager and head coach Phillip Barski announced the club has signed forward Connor Lockhart and defenseman Wyatt McLeod to ECHL standard player contracts.
The 21-year-old Lockhart spent the past two seasons in the OHL. He totaled 27 goals and 32 assists for 59 points with a +31 rating in 52 games last season between the Peterborough Petes and the Oshawa Generals.
In addition, Lockhart scored nine goals and nine assists with 22 penalty minutes in 21 postseason games with the Generals. His 18 postseason points were fourth most on the team.
During the 2022-23 season, the Kanata, Ontario native tallied 29 goals and 50 assists, ranking second on the team with 79 points in 66 games with the Petes. En route to an OHL championship, Lockhart posted 16 points (7-9-16) in 23 postseason games.
The 5-foot-9, 164-pound forward totaled 213 points (88-125-213) in 239 career OHL games. He was a sixth-round selection (178th overall) in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks.
McLeod, 24, appeared in 16 games last season with the University of Alberta totaling one goal and three assists for four points with 16 penalty minutes. Over three collegiate seasons, the 6-foot-3, 203-pound defenseman registered 35 points (4-31-35) with 42 penalty minutes.
In the 2020-21 season, the Dawson Creek, British Columbia native skated in 15 ECHL games, posting four points (2-2-4) and a +3 rating. This followed his WHL season where he notched three goals, 12 assists and a +8 rating in 24 games with the Saskatoon Blades. His 15 points were second-most among the team’s defensemen.
McLeod amassed 69 points (12-57-69) and 165 penalty minutes in 228 career WHL games between the Blades and the Edmonton Oil Kings, where he served as an alternate captain for his final two seasons.