INDY RE-SIGNS FOUR FAN FAVORITES

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indy Fuel announced today that they have re-signed forwards Andrew Bellant, Matus Spodniak, Darby Llewellyn, and Jordan Martin to standard player contracts for the upcoming 2024-25 season. 

Last season, Bellant scored 40 points in 68 games as well as two points in five games during the playoffs. He tallied 38 penalty minutes and was +5 on the season in goal differential. 

In the 2022-23 season, Bellant skated in 64 games for the Fuel and collected 27 points and 34 penalty minutes. Prior to that, he played five games for the Knoxville Ice Bears of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) where he scored seven points. 

Bellant initially came to the Fuel in the 2021-22 season, on a loan from Knoxville. He played 13 games in Indy, notching one goal and two assists. While in Knoxville that season, he averaged over a point per game, scoring 40 in 36 games.

The 5’11”, 185-pound forward played two seasons at Adrian College (NCAA III) before turning pro. At Adrian College, Bellant scored 65 points across 49 games.

VIEW BELLANT’S CAREER STATS HERE

Last season, Spodniak scored 20 points in 48 games with the Fuel and tallied one assist in two games in the playoffs. The 5’11 forward joined the Fuel from Adrian College at the end of the 2022-23 season where he played four games and tallied one goal. 

He played the prior two seasons at Adrian, tallying 94 points in 60 games. During the 2022-23 season, the Kosice, Slovakia native led the Bulldogs in points with 57. During that season, he also won the NCHA Player of the Year Award, USCHO Player of the Year Award and Sid Watson Award all given to the best NCAA DIII player of the year.

Prior to his time at Adrian, Spodniak attended the American International College for three seasons where he played in seven games. Before starting his collegiate career, Spodniak played three seasons for the Ogden Mustangs of the Western States Hockey League (WSHL).

In his 2017-18 season with the Mustangs, he tallied 146 points becoming the franchise’s all time goals, assists and points leader as well as single-season leader in all three of those categories.

VIEW SPODNIAK’S CAREER STATS HERE

Darby Llewellyn rejoins the Fuel after a 21-game season last year where he scored three points and tallied 21 penalty minutes.

The Fuel claimed Llewellyn off of waivers from the Kalamazoo Wings in March of 2023, where he played seven games for Indy after 54 games for Kalamazoo. Prior to that, the 28-year-old played in Norway and Sweden for the 2021-22 season, tallying 48 points in 31 games across two leagues. 

The Ann Arbor, Michigan native played 44 games for the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL in the 2020-21 season where he tallied seven points and recorded 49 penalty minutes. Llewellyn has also played for the Rapid City Rush and Atlanta Gladiators in the ECHL. 

During his junior career, the 6’0” winger played five seasons for the Kitchener Rangers in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He is third on the all-time games played list for the Rangers having appeared in 301 matches.

VIEW LLEWELLYN’S CAREER STATS HERE

Jordan Martin rejoins the Fuel after playing 35 games for the Indianapolis team last year, where he scored eight points and collected 24 penalty minutes.

Martin played thirteen games with the Iowa Heartlanders and the Toledo Walleye during the 2022-23 season. He tallied three points. Prior to that, the 27-year-old played 41 games for the Birmingham Bulls of the SPHL where he scored 14 goals and collected 21 points. He also posted a +20 +/- with the Bulls that season. 

The Winnipeg native also played 14 games for Birmingham to end the 2021-22 season after graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Superior. In those 14 games, Martin tallied six points. 

At the University of Wisconsin-Superior, the 5’11” forward played 93 games through four years and collected 55 points and 106 penalty minutes. He majored in Exercise Science with a concentration in Community and Public Health Promotion while attending.

VIEW MARTIN’S CAREER STATS HERE

ABOUT THE INDY FUEL:

The Indy Fuel are the proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Chicago Blackhawks and the American Hockey League’s Rockford IceHogs. The Fuel will be back for their eleventh season during the 2024-25 campaign beginning in October, 2024. Information and tickets can be found HERE. 

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