The Orlando Solar Bears agreed to terms with forward Brendan Harris on a contract for the 2026-27 season. Harris joins the ECHL club after helping the Nottingham Panthers win the Elite Ice Hockey League championship and IIHF Continental Cup during the 2025-26 season. The 30-year-old forward is from Port Jefferson, New York.
Harris brings six seasons of professional experience in North America and Europe. He has appeared in more than 230 games across the American Hockey League, ECHL and Elite Ice Hockey League. The Orlando Solar Bears are an ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning.
Harris brings ECHL production
Harris has recorded 196 points, including 63 goals and 133 assists, in 230 ECHL games with the Wheeling Nailers and Jacksonville Icemen. He also has 46 penalty minutes and a plus-34 rating in ECHL play. Harris earned ECHL All-Star honors in 2023-24 after posting career highs of 45 assists and 66 points while leading Jacksonville in both categories.
That performance earned Harris a three-game call-up to the American Hockey League’s Cleveland Monsters. Before turning professional, he played four seasons at Bemidji State University and recorded 56 points, including 17 goals and 39 assists, in 104 NCAA Division I games. He also spent four seasons in the BCHL, USHL and NAHL before beginning his college career.
Harris led the BCHL with 98 points for the Wenatchee Wild in 2016-17. He received the Vern Dye Memorial Trophy as the league’s Most Valuable Player, was named a BCHL First Team All-Star and received the Bob Fenton Trophy as the league’s Most Sportsmanlike Player. The listed Orlando Solar Bears 2026 preseason roster includes 10 forwards, seven defensemen and one goaltender.
Orlando Solar Bears 2026 preseason roster
- Forwards: Camaryn Baber, Tyler Bird, Connor Eddy, Brendan Harris, Massimo Lombardi, Aaron Luchuk, Keegan McMullen, John Parker-Jones, Kobe Walker and Luciano Wilson
- Defensemen: Jarod Crespo, Tony Follmer, Dustin Geregach, Colton Kammerer, Kade Landry, Xavier Lapointe and Ethan Szmagaj
- Goaltender: Ryan Bednard
Source: Original report