Gargoyles agree to terms with three players

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Greensboro Gargoyles, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes and the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves, announced that the team has signed forwards Ryan Hughes, Chase Lefebvre and Markus Oden to contracts for the 2026-27 season.

Hughes, 27, will enter his first professional season in North America after playing the last three seasons overseas. Most recently, he represented was with the Rødovre Mighty Bulls in Denmark’s Metal Ligaen, the top tier of Danish professional hockey. Hughes appeared in 47 games, registering 31 points (9g-22a). The Edmonton, Alberta native previously spent two seasons in the Elite Ice Hockey League playing for the Guilford Flames in 2023-24 and the Manchester Storm in 2024-25, where he set a career high 46 points (15g-31a) in 54 games. Hughes spent six seasons in the Western Hockey League, primarily with the Portland Winterhawks, where he was an alternate captain during his fourth season, before joining the Saskatoon Blades and Kamloops Blazers. He also spent three years at the University of Alberta, capped off in his final season with 29 points (9g-20a) in 28 games during 2022-23.

Lefebvre, 22, will be a first-season professional, joining the Gargoyles from Toronto Metro University where he played the 2025-26 season. The Kapuskasking, Ontario native previously spent three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League. Lefebvre recorded 55 points (21g-34a) in 129 games for the Peterborough Petes from 2022-25. He split the 2024-25 season adding 17 games with the Brampton Steelheads and 11 games with the Haliburton County Huskies in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. Last season, he recorded 20 points (7g-13a) in 28 games with Toronto Metro.

Oden, 25, will enter his first season playing in North America. The Pierce, Washington native also played last season in Denmark’s Metal Ligaen with the Odense Bulldogs. He developed in the Finish Junior leagues, playing five seasons in KooKoo, before joining Jukurit for the 2020-21 season where he received his first Liiga call-up. Oden represented Jukurit for 99 Liiga games across four seasons, recording 38 points (21g-17a). He played four more games for TPS during the 2024-25 season before joining Odense in Denmark. With Odense, Oden totaled 31 points (20g-11a) in 51 appearances.