ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs announced on Thursday that forwards Brenden Stanko and Tobias Odjick have both been activated from the injured reserve, and defenseman Johnny Macdonald has taken a call-up to return to the ECHL’s Reading Royals.
Stanko will make his season debut for his second full year of pro hockey after initially signing with the Dawgs back on November 28, 2023. In 34 games for Roanoke last season, Stanko has recorded 11 goals, 19 assists, and a plus-seven rating. He added one goal and one assist in two playoff games before suffering an injury in Game Two of the first round against Quad City. Playing under former Dawg and current Binghamton Black Bears head coach Brant Sherwood, the six-foot-one forward won the FPHL’s Rookie of the Month award to start last season by putting up 12 goals, 15 assists, and a plus-19 plus/minus rating in just 14 games before heading to Roanoke. Before joining the Black Bears, the Howell, Michigan native played five seasons at Adrian College (ACHA), helping the Bulldogs win the 2020-21 ACHA Division One National Championship. In 142 college games, Stanko notched 81 goals and 114 assists.
Odjick is in his third professional season, appearing in four of Roanoke’s first five games and recording two fights, 18 penalty minutes, and an even plus-minus rating. Odjick previously played in 48 regular season FPHL games during the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons for the Danbury Hat Tricks. During his time in Danbury, the five-foot-eleven forward had 19 goals and 28 assists in the regular season, plus seven goals and three assists in 14 career playoff games. Odjick helped Danbury en route to winning the 2023 Commissioner’s Cup alongside of fellow Dawg John Macdonald and former Dawgs Kyle Gonzalez and Dmitry Kuznetsov. Prior to his professional career, the Kitigan Zibi, Quebec native played four seasons of junior hockey throughout various leagues in Canada, including the CCHL, QJHL, MJHL, and GMHL.
MacDonald actually began his fourth professional season in Reading’s training camp this fall but returned to Roanoke after he was waived on October 13. The 24-year-old played in four games for Reading after being called back up to the ECHL on October 28, was released earlier this week and returned to Roanoke, but now will rejoin the Royals. The Canonsburg, Pennsylvania native got off to a hot start this season for Roanoke, tallying two goals and two assists through Roanoke’s first four games, including an overtime game-winning goal on October 26 at Peoria. After appearing in three games for Roanoke in the 2022-2023 season, the six-foot-two blue-liner broke out last season with six goals, 16 assists, a plus-11 rating, and 61 penalty minutes in 36 regular season games for the Dawgs after signing with Roanoke on December 13, 2023. The remainder of Macdonald’s pro experience to date came with the FPHL’s Danbury Hat Tricks, where the left-shot defenseman had 15 goals, 59 assists, and 96 penalty minutes in 98 regular season games while adding eight assists in 14 career playoff games for the Hat Tricks. Macdonald was a strong contributor in Danbury’s FPHL’s Commissioner’s Cup title run in the 2022-2023 season.
The Rail Yard Dawgs are on the road on Thursday, November 21 against the Knoxville Ice Bears. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 P.M. EST at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office.
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