DEFENSEMAN JOHN SPETZ CHOOSES CINCINNATI, INKS DEAL FOR 2026-27 SEASON
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Cincinnati Cyclones, proud ECHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, today announced that defenseman John Spetz has signed with the team ahead of the 2026-27 season. With his signing, Spetz is set to debut with the Cyclones this upcoming season.
Spetz, 26, re-signs with Cincinnati after originally being acquired by the organization via trade on Feb. 2, 2026. After an injury kept him sidelined for the remainder of the season, Spetz is set to make his Cyclones debut after starting his professional career with the Icemen. Throughout his rookie campaign, Spetz has a goal and six assists(seven points) in 33 games played with Jacksonville. He scored his first professional goal on Nov. 13, 2025 against the Orlando Solar Bears.
“Everywhere John has played, he has established himself as a dependable defenseman who can eat up big and important minutes. His positioning, competitiveness and understanding of the game allow him to take on difficult assignments and play against the opposition’s best players,” said Cyclones Head Coach Riley Weselowski.” He takes a great deal of pride in shutting those players down and doing the work required to help his team win. What separates John is how deeply he understands and values the details that go into building successful teams. He loves hockey, studies the game and believes strongly in team culture, daily standards and complete buy-in from everyone in the organization.
“During his time at UConn, he helped establish expectations that changed the direction of the program, while mentoring younger players and showing them what it meant to represent their team the right way. Those characteristics will be extremely valuable in our locker room,” he added. “John is fully aligned with our vision and extremely excited about the direction our program is headed. His addition makes us more dependable on the back end and much harder to play against. Just as importantly, we are adding another player who embraces difficult responsibilities and understands that championship teams are built through consistency, accountability and a commitment to the group every single day.”
At the collegiate level, Spetz had an impressive career at the University of Connecticut (NCAA DI) where he spent five seasons with the Huskies and logged 12 goals and 48 assists (60 points) in 164 games played. He finished his career with the Huskies as the program’s all-time leader in goals, assists, and points by a defenseman in the Hockey East era. Prior to his time in college, Spetz was an assistant captain for the Chicago Steel (USHL). He led the team to first place in the Eastern Conference, where they would claim the Anderson Cup in 2020 for the best regular season team in the USHL. At the time of his graduation to play college hockey, Spetz held the Chicago Steel all-time record for points by a defenseman.
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