Ex Viper Goaltender Gore Eligible To Receive Qualifying Offer By Thunder:

Former Vernon Vipers goaltender is one of eight players for the East Coast Hockey League's (ECHL) Adirondack Thunder who are eligible to receive a qualifying offer for the summer of 2015. 

Gore spent the previous five seasons with the University of Regina before signing with the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) Stockton Thunder on March 5th 2015. In 7 games with the Thunder last year Gore went 2-4-1 with a 4.37 GAA.  Gore played one season in Vernon (2007-08). In 27 games with the Vipers Gore went 14-8-1 with a 3.31 GAA before joining the Western Hockey League Chilliwack Bruins the following season.

The Stockton Thunder was an affiliate team of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League in their final two seasons, before the team was purchased by the Calgary Flames and relocated to Glens Falls, New York to and replaced by the Flames' American Hockey League team, the Stockton Heat. The Flames former American Hockey League team the Adirondack Flames has moved to the East Coast Hockey League and now known as the Adirondack Thunder. 24 players who played with the Thunder in Stockton last season will make the move to Adirondack.   

Lucas Gores Player Profile:

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=23803

This is posted on the Thunder website:

THUNDER EXTEND EIGHT QUALIFYING OFFERS

07/01/2015 

Glens Falls, NY - The Adirondack Thunder, proud ECHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames, announced that they have extended qualifying offers to eight players for the 2015-16 season. 

The Adirondack Thunder’s list of qualifying offers for the 2015-16 season, is as follows: 

Goaltenders (x1): Lucas Gore

Defensemen (x1): Brad Stebner

Forwards (x6):  James Henry, Jack MacLellan, Tyler Maxwell, Carter Rigby, Vincent Scarsella, Klarc Wilson. 

The Thunder’s protected list is highlighted by four of the Stockton Thunder’s five leading scorers from a season ago, including leading scorer Tyler Maxwell (63GP-24G-27A-51P) and Vincent Scarsella (33-9-22-30), who was acquired midseason from the Utah Grizzlies. Maxwell’s 24 goals led the Thunder in 2014-15, while James Henry’s 33 assists were second on the team. Henry was the only player on the Thunder to appear in all 72 games a season ago. 

The Thunder, along with the other 27 ECHL teams, were entitled to reserve the rights to a maximum of eight qualified players. Of the eight qualified players, no more than four could be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the upcoming 2015-16 season). Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded.

All qualifying offers will remain open for acceptance until August 1, at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action. Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a non-veteran player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season.

A team that extends a valid qualifying offer to a veteran player will retain the rights to that veteran until Aug. 1. After Aug. 1, if the veteran player is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran shall be deemed a restricted free agent and shall be entitled to seek and secure offers of employment from other ECHL teams. Restricted free agents may not be traded. 

When a restricted free agent receives a contract offer from a team other than the team with the player’s rights and the restricted free agent wishes to accept the contract offer, the restricted free agent and the offering member must, within 24 hours, notify the ECHL, the team with the player’s rights and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association. The member with the player’s rights shall have seven days after the date it is notified to exercise its right to match the contract offer. 

If a restricted free agent is not signed to either an offer sheet or a contract by an ECHL team by Aug. 31, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent.