Gladiators Lose Top Goaltender as Semptimphelter Heads to AHL

The Atlanta Gladiators, an affiliate of the Nashville Predators (NHL) and Milwaukee Admirals (AHL), announced Thursday that goaltender T.J. Semptimphelter has been recalled to Milwaukee.

The 23-year-old is under contract with the Admirals and was assigned to Atlanta to start the 2025-26 season. His debut campaign has been nothing short of outstanding — Semptimphelter owns a 15-6-1-1 record with a 1.99 goals-against average, a .929 save percentage, and one shutout. Those numbers place him fourth in the ECHL in GAA, third in save percentage, and tied for third in wins. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound netminder also earned ECHL Goaltender of the Month honors in December and started in goal for the Stripes team at the 2026 ECHL All-Star Classic in January.

This is Semptimphelter’s first full professional season, coming off a senior year at the University of North Dakota in which he went 18-11-2 with a 2.64 GAA, a .910 save percentage, and one shutout. His collegiate career took him through four programs — one season at Northeastern, two at Arizona State, and one at North Dakota — where he finished 53-40-6 with a 2.63 GAA, a .913 save percentage, and nine shutouts across 101 appearances. The Marlton, N.J., native was nominated for both the Hobey Baker Memorial Award and the Mike Richter Award in 2023 and made one AHL appearance with the Bridgeport Islanders in April 2025.