Mavericks' 2015-16 roster set

It's July 1, and, taking a peek at Minnesota State's website, the roster is set for the upcoming season. So for those of you who enjoy uniforms and numbers (yeah, I'm one of those nerds), here are what the Mavericks' newbies will be wearing starting this fall:

4-Clint Lewis, sophomore D (started career at Cornell)
7-Steen Cooper, freshman F
8-Daniel Brickley, freshman D
12-Max Coatta, freshman F
13-Chandler Madry, freshman F
14-Jimmy Mullin, senior F (graduate transfer from Miami)
21-Alex Vanko, freshman D
27-Ryan Schwalbe, freshman F
39-Jason Pawloski, freshman G

A couple other notes from the roster:

• None of the returning players changed numbers, which is always a good thing for the beat writer, especially at the beginning of the season.

• The Mavericks have 27 players this season, including 15 forwards, 9 defensemen and 3 goaltenders.

• The roster confirms that defenseman Nick Buchanan is not returning to the team. I understand he is staying in school but is done with hockey. Well-liked and a good kid who practiced hard, he did not get in a game last season and only played 31 games in three years (24 as a freshman).

• Here's a breakdown of the roster by class: Seniors (7) —Thompson, Gervais, Mullin, Blueger, Knowles, Margonari, Jutzi. Juniors (7) — Foguth, C. Nelson, Flanagan, J. Nelson, Huntebrinker, Stepan Huggins. Sophomore (6) — Lewis, Knutson, Franklin, McClure, Schmeisser, A. Nelson. Freshmen (7) —Cooper, Brickley, Coatta, Madry, Vanko, Schwalbe, Pawloski.

• Where are they from? Again, Minnesota State continues to be a melting pot of players from all over the place — 19 from the United States, 7 from Canada, 1 from Latvia. The 13 U.S. states represented include: Minnesota (5), Wisconsin (2), North Dakota (2), Michigan (1), Utah (1), South Dakota (1), California (1), Ohio (1), Missouri (1), Pennsylvania (1), Alaska, (1), Colorado (1), Nebraska (1). The three provinces represented include British Columbia (3), Saskatchewan (2), Ontario (2).

• As always, it will be strange to see different players in some very familiar numbers next season, especially 7 (formerly Zach Palmquist), 8 (Max Gaede), 12 (J.P. LaFontaine), 21 (Chase Grant) and 27 (Brett Stern). No number 18 (Matt Leitner) this season, though.