Defenseman returns to Fishers after record-setting season

The Indy Fuel have added a rookie forward and brought back a record-setting defenseman as they build toward their 13th season at Fishers Event Center.

The ECHL club announced this week it has signed forward Conor Cole to a standard player contract for the 2026-27 season and re-signed defenseman Matt Petgrave.

Cole, 24, comes to Fishers from the University of Alaska-Anchorage, where he served as captain last season and appeared in 20 games. The St. John’s, Newfoundland, native spent four seasons with the Seawolves after two years with the Maryland Black Bears of the North American Hockey League.

The 5-foot-10 center, a left-handed shot, also played two seasons with the Toronto Patriots of the Ontario Junior Hockey League from 2018 to 2020, collecting 67 points in 92 games.

Petgrave, 34, returns after a 2025-26 season in which he rewrote part of the Fuel record book. His 48 points were the most ever by a Fuel defenseman in a single season, and his 12 goals rank second in franchise history among Indy defensemen — one shy of the single-season record.

He was also one of two Fuel players to appear in all 72 regular-season games, and he added a goal and an assist in the team’s five-game playoff series against Fort Wayne.

Before arriving in Fishers, Petgrave played for the Sheffield Steelers of Britain’s Elite Ice Hockey League, recording 51 points in 61 games. The Toronto native spent five seasons in the ECHL and the American Hockey League before heading overseas, including a stint with the Florida Everblades. He was named an ECHL All-Star in 2017-18 with the Brampton Beast after putting up 40 points in 50 games.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound defenseman has also won an OHL championship and a U Sports University Cup.

The Fuel are the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. The team returns to Fishers Event Center in October for its 13th season.