Duluth Harbor Monsters Introduce Inaugural Roster

Season opener set for May 25

DULUTH, Minn.- The Duluth Harbor Monsters drew one step closer to their inaugural season, introducing their 2024 roster to fans and media members on Saturday.

Head Coach Tony O’Neil says cutting down the team’s roster following player tryouts was difficult, but he’s happy it’s now over and is now focused on bringing the players closer together as a unit.

“We believe in family, that’s one of our core values with this organization is family.” says O’Neil, who was most recently the defensive coordinator for Duluth Denfeld. “They’ve already been hanging out; we’ve been talking to these guys. I mean, I still feel a little hurt we had to let 25 players go, but we’ve all grown to know them and bond with them and so it’s super important, we love to see it.”

Quarterback Ja’Vonte Johnson and Wide Receiver Nathan Chromy were among the first players signed by the Harbor Monsters. Both say they’re ready to get to know their teammates better ahead of the season opener.

We were basically here with maybe 50 percent of the guys who came here the first day, so I mean, it’s always tough going through cuts and stuff like that,” says Johnson, “but it’s nice to finally be down to the bottom, so we can finally start actually gelling, knowing who’s who and who’s going to be where.”

“Man, I couldn’t have more excitement in my body, it’s like an adrenaline rush.” smiled Chromy, who was named the 2020 CAFL MVP during his time with the Minnesota Grizzlies. “With everybody that I’ve seen, we’ve got a lot of dogs on this team, so I think it’s going to be a great time, and I think that the fans are going to love it as much as we love it.”

The Harbor Monsters’ regular season will kick off on May 25 at home against the Dallas Falcons.