Checkers add four on one-year AHL deals for 2026-27

The Charlotte Checkers added a name with real lineup upside when they signed Luca Fantilli to a one-year, one-way AHL contract for 2026-27. Among the four players Charlotte brought in on June 12, Fantilli is the one who could most directly alter the shape of the roster, while Mitch Vande Sompel, William Bitten and Vinnie Purpura deepen the mix around him.

Fantilli arrives after four seasons at the University of Michigan, where he wore an alternate captain’s letter in his senior year and posted a career-high 17 points in 40 games. The older brother of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Adam Fantilli, he gives Charlotte a defenseman with offensive touch and enough pedigree to push for more than sheltered minutes. For a Checkers club that reached the 2025 Calder Cup Finals after winning the Eastern Conference and then clinched its eighth straight playoff berth in March 2026, that kind of blue-line upside matters.

Vande Sompel is the only re-signee in the group, and his return gives Charlotte a player the staff already knows. The 29-year-old skated in 36 games for the Checkers last season and produced 11 points, including four goals and seven assists. Over 347 career AHL games, he has 128 points and 155 penalty minutes, a record that points to a dependable lower-pair defenseman who can handle hard minutes. Charlotte acquired him from the Chicago Wolves on March 8, 2024, and he looks positioned to compete again for depth duty, not a premium role.

Bitten, a forward, gives the Checkers another experienced body in the middle of the lineup, while Purpura arrives as goaltending insurance. Between those two and Vande Sompel, Charlotte added players who can absorb wear over a long AHL season. Fantilli is the one who could force his way into a top-four conversation, but the larger message is organizational: the Panthers’ affiliate is trying to keep enough proven depth in place to survive another postseason run.