The Atlanta Gladiators, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Nashville Predators and the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals, announced Tuesday that the team has re-signed forward Ryan Nolan for the 2026-27 season.
Nolan, 28, returns to the Gladiators for his second season with the club after netting 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points and a +10 rating in 63 games. His marks in each category last season were all career-highs at the ECHL level, while his +10 rating led all Gladiators forwards. Of his 11 goals, 4 were game winners, tying him with Jack O’Brien for the third most among Atlanta skaters.
Nolan made his ECHL debut in the 2024-25 season with the Adirondack Thunder, scoring 1 goal and 2 assists in 16 games on loan from the SPHL’s Fayetteville Marksmen. He scored his first ECHL goal in his first ECHL game on February 12, 2025, vs Trois Rivieres. With the Marksmen that same season, Nolan averaged a point per game with 17 goals and 21 assists in 38 games with the club.
The 6-foot-1, 198-pound forward began his professional career in the SPHL with the Peoria Rivermen in 2023, helping the team capture the President’s Cup with 11 goals and 9 assists in 24 games during the regular season. He then signed with Fayetteville for the 2024-25 season. Nolan played three seasons of NCAA Division I hockey at Merrimack College, and one at Michigan State University ahead of his pro debut in 2023.
“Ryan came in last season and earned everything that he got. A big part of the locker room, he immediately garnered his teammates’ and staff’s respect through how he handled his business,” said Gladiators Head Coach & Director of Hockey Operations, Matt Ginn. “Ryan is a big and physical forward that scored some big goals for us last season. With a full season under his belt, we expect Ryan to take another step, and we are excited to bring him back to Atlanta,” he said.
Nolan joins Max Neill, Connor Caponi, Kyle Pow, Anthony Cipollone, Joey Cipollone, Jack Blake, Stephen Calisti, and Ryan Conroy as players who have signed with the Gladiators for the 2026-27 season.
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