K-Wings ink three returnees

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Kalamazoo Wings, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets, and Head Coach Nick Bootland announced the club has signed Matheson Iacopelli, Tanner Sorenson and Justin Taylor, a trio of impact forwards who starred on the 2019-20 team, the last time Kalamazoo hit the ice.

Iacopelli, 27, enters his fourth pro season and second with the K-Wings as a dynamic forward who finished the 2019-20 season with 22 points in his last 20 games. The Brownstown, Michigan native had 31 points (16g-15a) in 41 games total that season, including nine power-play points and four game-winning goals. Iacopelli, a 2014 third round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks, spent two seasons at Western Michigan University before turning pro in 2016.

Sorenson, 28, returns to Kalamazoo after putting up 26 points (10g-16a) in 30 games in 2019-20. The Anchorage, Alaska native also appeared in 12 American Hockey League games that season for the Utica Comets and recorded two assists. Through five pro seasons, Sorenson has skated in 219 ECHL games (216 with Kalamazoo), 12 AHL games, and 53 games overseas in Kazakhstan and Switzerland. He previously spent four seasons at Michigan State University from 2011-15.­

Taylor, 32, spent the 2020-21 season with the Tulsa Oilers after the K-Wings opted out of the season due to the pandemic. The veteran forward compiled 21 points (9g-12a) in 62 games for the Oilers. In 2019-20, Taylor posted 39 points (20g-19a) in 49 games for Kalamazoo, including 10 power-play points and a team-best five game-winning goals. The Mindemoya, Ontario native has skated in 652 ECHL games - which ranks 10th all-time in league history - and 25 AHL games throughout his career. Taylor is 48 games shy of becoming just the sixth player in ECHL history to reach the 700-games played plateau. He enters his 12th pro season, and 11th in Kalamazoo, as the franchise record holder for games played (542). He is also third all-time in goals (213) and fifth in points (403).