ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs announced on Tuesday that forward Owen McDade has signed a contract for the upcoming 2024-2025 season.
McDade arrived in Roanoke after previously playing his first two professional seasons overseas in Finland. McDade ascended midway through last season with the Rail Yard Dawgs – after notching three goals and five assists in his first 17 appearances, the centerman would go on to record 16 goals and 15 assists in his next 32 regular season games. McDade’s 19 goals were the second-most on the team, his two hat tricks led Roanoke, and the five-foot-eleven forward was named an alternate captain before the end of his initial campaign for the team. While playing in Europe before joining the Dawgs, McDade spent most of his time with Muik in the Finnish Third League (Suomi-sarja). The 27-year-old tallied 30 goals and 34 assists in 59 total games played in Finland. The Combermere, Ontario native also played junior hockey in both the OHL and the CCHL previously and has coaching and scouting experience from the GMHL’s Bancroft Rockhounds.
“Owen is someone that came in and did all of the little things right for us,” said Roanoke head coach Dan Bremner when asked about McDade. “He works hard and his compete level is contagious, so it comes as no surprise as to how quickly he became a leader within this group. At the same time, Owen has shown his ability to be a consistent, major contributor on the scoresheet. We believe Owen can continue to be a player that checks a lot of different boxes for us, and we’re excited to see if he can take it to an even higher level this season.”
Training camp is set to start October 8, 2024 at Berglund Center Coliseum. Times of sessions open to the public will be released at a later date. The Rail Yard Dawgs open the 2024-2025 season at home on Friday, October 18 against the Fayetteville Marksmen. Opening Night is sponsored by Haley Toyota with K92.3. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office.
For media inquiries, please contact broadcaster@railyarddawgs.com
Signed As of October 1:
- Nick Ford
- Joe Widmar
- Tim Kent
- Ryan Hunter
- Jacob Kelly
- Brendan Pepe
- Aidan Girduckis
- John Macdonald
- Brenden Stanko
- Trevor Lord
- Billy Roche
- Hunter Virostek (G)
- Matt O’Dea
- Gustav Müller
- Filip Hlavac
- Stephen Alvo
- Tommy Munichiello
- Tobias Odjick
- Tyler Roy (G)
- Zane Schartz
- Cory Doney
- Jimmy O’Kane
- Owen McDade