Admirals extend captain Kevin Gravel two years, re-sign goalie T.J. Lucchini

The Milwaukee Admirals announced on Feb. 23, 2026 that captain Kevin Gravel has signed a two-year AHL contract extension “good through the 2027-28 season,” and that the organization also “inked goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter to a one-year AHL contract for the 2026-27 campaign,” according to the team release distributed via OurSportsCentral. The same announcement is reflected in the Admirals’ materials dated from Milwaukee, WI.

The OurSportsCentral release laid out Gravel’s Milwaukee resume in concrete terms: “Currently in his third season as Admirals Captain and his fourth overall, Gravel has skated in 221 regular season games with Milwaukee, recording 49 points (8g-41a) and 87 penalty minutes and has seen action in 36 Calder Cup Playoff games, helping the team win a playoff round in each of his first three seasons with the team.” The release also states that Gravel “has served as team Captain for more games than any other player in team AHL history and is sixth all-time in games played among defensemen since Milwaukee joined the league in 2001.”

Gravel’s agreement with Milwaukee sits alongside prior NHL-level reporting about the defenseman. Predators and NHL communications previously stated, “The #Preds have signed defenseman Kevin Gravel to a two-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 at the NHL level that will begin in the 2024-25 season.” Team and league bios in the files further trace Gravel’s path: drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth round (148th overall) in 2010, a 2014-15 Calder Cup winner with Manchester, and a veteran with appearances across Stockton, Bakersfield, Toronto, Ontario and Manchester. Those background notes list differing career totals by source, MilwaukeeAdmirals cites 273 career AHL contests with 74 points (21g-53a), DailyFaceoff lists 358 career AHL games, and other material references 385 AHL contests, numbers the club will need to reconcile for an official career ledger.

The goaltender portion of the release contains a notable name discrepancy: the OurSportsCentral text uses the spelling “T.J. Semptimphelter” for the one-year 2026-27 AHL deal, while the Admirals’ original brief and headline materials identify the signing as goaltender T.J. Lucchini. Neither spelling outside the release is corroborated in the packet of team, league, and DailyFaceoff excerpts provided with the announcement, and the OurSportsCentral release offers no biographical or statistical detail for the goalie beyond the one-year term.

Milwaukee’s timing on the Gravel extension comes with the club riding a strong season. DailyFaceoff lists the Admirals at 25-10-1 through 36 games, first in the AHL’s Central Division, with upcoming games at home Friday against the Rockford IceHogs and Saturday at the Chicago Wolves. DailyFaceoff also records Gravel’s current-season totals as one goal and five assists for six points in 36 games.

Keeping Gravel under contract through 2027-28 secures an established leader who the Admirals’ release credits with both postseason impact and franchise captaincy milestones, while the one-year netminder signing, under a name that requires confirmation, suggests Milwaukee is balancing veteran continuity on the blue line with goaltending depth for the push through the AHL calendar.