

INDIANAPOLIS – Brendan Warren became the first Indy Fuel player under contract for the 2019-20 season on Tuesday.

The 22-year-old forward most recently completed four years of college hockey at the University of Michigan, where he totaled 18 goals and 45 points in 149 games.

In his junior season, Warren led the Michigan club in shorthanded goals with two.

Last year, the Fuel finished 13th out of 27 teams in the ECHL on the penalty kill (82.9%). Over the 72-game season, the Fuel’s penalty kill scored 13 times and allowed 54 power play goals.

Warren received Academic All-Big Ten honors his sophomore, junior, and senior season at the University of Michigan.

Before joining the University of Michigan, Warren played in the USHL for the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (USNTDP) Juniors in 2014-15. While there, Warren tallied seven goals and 13 points in 20 games.

It is worth noting that from 2014 to 2018, Fuel head coach Doug Christiansen served as the USHL League Director of Player Development and Recruitment. Christiansen is very high on the skillset that Warren brings to the table for Indy.

“Warren has great speed [and an] excellent skill package,” Christiansen said. “[He] played a defensive role at Michigan. [He has] an excellent pedigree and should be a quality addition for us.”

Later that year, Warren played 61 games for the United States National U-18 Team. He put up 38 points, evenly distributed among goals and assists (19).

The 6-foot forward also played for the U.S. U-18 team at the World Junior Championships that same year, scoring twice along with two assists in seven games.

After the 2014-15 season, Warren was selected in the third round (81st overall) by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2015 NHL Draft. If Warren were to get called up to the NHL, Warren would report to the Philadelphia Flyers, as the Coyotes traded his NHL rights to the Flyers in 2017.

Keep track of all the signings and movement during the 2019 ECHL offseason by visiting our ECHL Transactions page!

