The First Ghost Pirate

It's always an exciting time in an expansion team's history when the first players are introduced to the fans. Expansion drafts help in this regard when it comes to teams stocking their rosters, but there are players who are signed prior to any sort of expansion help comes. If we've seen trends in expansion draft selections in the past, goaltenders are selected early as teams build from the crease outward. There is no planned expansion draft in the ECHL yet, but with the ECHL's Savannah Ghost Pirates getting ready for their first season of play, they need some players to fill out a roster so who becomes the historic name in Ghost Pirates history? Would they follow a similar idea other teams have had in building from the crease?

That answer is yes, and they went to a recent NCAA graduate for the historic signing! The Savannah Ghost Pirates officially announced they have signed goaltender Darion Hanson to a deal for the 2022-23 season, making Hanson the first Ghost Pirate in franchise history! Hanson played last season with the University of Connecticut Huskies where he went 20-15-0 while posting a 2.24 goals-against average and a .957 save percentage with one blank sheet. He'll be on the roster when the team opens the season on October 22 in Greenville!

Hanson, who stopped pucks for Union College prior to transferring to UConn, has played in one ECHL contest already as he donned the uniform of the Reading Royals last season in a game against the Maine Mariners on April 8. Hanson was solid in his professional debut following his collegiate career as he stopped 22 shots to help Reading to a 4-1 win over Maine. The former Vernon Vipers netminder was loaned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms late in the ECHL season, but he made no appearances in the AHL to this point. Perhaps he'll get his shot with Henderson at some point if he can continue to put up solid numbers with Savannah!

That being said, there's some familiarity for Hanson in signing with Savannah as former Union College head coach Rick Bennett is now the head coach of the Ghost Pirates. Under Bennett, Hanson had a 30-37-9 record, but 24 of those losses came in his final season at Union where the Dutchmen were anything but competitive as they looked to rebuild the program. Getting back into Bennett's system should prove beneficial for Hanson as there's less to learn if Bennett opts to use a similar system as he did at Union College.

For Bennett, he gets a netminder who he trusts in the crease, and that was evident when he awarded Hanson the captaincy at Union College as shown above. In none of Hanson's three seasons with Bennett at the helm did he post a goals-against average above 2.78 and he never once had a save percentage below .908, so Bennett can enter the inaugural Ghost Pirates season with a netminder who has shown consistency at the NCAA level. If that consistency translates to the ECHL will have to be seen, but Hanson's shown he can play the ECHL level in his quick showing with Reading.

"I am very happy to become a Ghost Pirate," Hanson told WJCL-ABC in Savannah. "Coach Bennett and the organization are certainly building something exciting. I'm looking forward to getting to know the City of Savannah, the fans, as well getting out on the ice at Enmarket Arena."

Hanson will get that chance on November 5 when the Ghost Pirates play their first-ever regular season home game in Savannah when they host the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. The Ghost Pirates have their first shipmate for their inaugural season navigating the ECHL seas. His name is Darion Hanson, and he looks like he'll be a good one for the Ghost Pirates!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!