The Atlanta Gladiators, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Nashville Predators and the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals, announced Tuesday that the team has signed forward Mickey Burns for the 2026-27 season.
Burns, 26, re-signs with the Gladiators for his second full season of professional hockey. The native of Wayne, N.J., scored 7 goals and 7 assists for 14 points in 66 games with Atlanta last season; and his 2 short-handed goals were tied for the team lead with Alex Young.
Burns made his ECHL debut with the Gladiators near the end of the 2024-25 campaign, in which he scored 1 goal and 2 assists in 13 games.
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound forward played 5 games at the University of Vermont during the 2020-21 season and 126 at Mercyhurst University from 2021-2024, scoring 30 goals and 39 assists for 69 points during his time with the Lakers.
“Burnsy was a big part of our group last year, both on and off the ice. He was a guy that the coaching staff could always count on to do things the right way,” said Gladiators Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations, Matt Ginn. “Burnsy was a catalyst for our team and the energy that he played with was contagious through our group. We’re excited to have him back in a Glads jersey,” he said.
Burns joins Max Neill, Connor Caponi, Kyle Pow, Anthony Cipollone, Joey Cipollone, Jack Blake, Stephen Calisti, Ryan Nolan, Kirklan Irey, and Ryan Conroy as players who have signed with the Gladiators for the 2026-27 season.
The season begins on October 17 at Gas South Arena when the Gladiators host the Norfolk Admirals.