Gladiators bring back Irey

Duluth, Ga. - The Atlanta Gladiators, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Nashville Predators and the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals, announced that the team has re-signed forward Kirklan Irey for the 2026-27 season.

Irey, 25, made his professional debut with the Gladiators last season and scored three points (2g-1a) in 10 regular-season games, while also skating in one game during Kelly Cup Playoffs. He scored his first two professional goals in the same game at Jacksonville on April 11, helping the Gladiators to a 5-4 shootout win.

Irey turned pro and signed with Atlanta after four seasons at Bemidji State University, where he recorded 57 points (21g-32a) in 134 career games. His best scoring season of his collegiate career came in 2024-25, in which he scored a career-high 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in 38 games.

Prior to his time at Bemidji State University, the native of Bismark, North Dakota played with the Bismark Bobcats of the North American Hockey League in the 2018-19 season, scoring 18 points (6g-12a) in 51 games. Irey then spent three seasons with the United States Hockey League’s Sioux City Musketeers, logging 57 points (25g-32a) in 148 games from 2019-22. Irey was the team’s alternate captain in the 2020-21 season and the captain in the 2021-22 season, leading the Musketeers to a Clark Cup championship in 2022.