ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs announced on Tuesday that the team has signed defenseman Gehrig Lindberg to a standard player contract following the conclusion of his PTO contract. Additionally, defenseman C.J. Valerian has been called up to by the ECHL’s Bloomington Bison.
Valerian is in his fourth season with the Dawgs after initially starting in training camp with the ECHL’s Reading Royals. After he was released back to Roanoke prior to the season opener, Valerian was called back up to the Royals on December 10, notching two assists, 25 penalty minutes, and a plus-three rating in Reading before he was placed on waivers in early February. The veteran blue-liner returned to the Dawgs on February 5, and has tallied one goal, five assists, and a plus-14 rating in 12 games played for the Dawgs this season, including a whopping plus-10 rating in his last five games after returning from his first ECHL call-up. The six-foot-two defenseman missed extended time last season after a long stint on the injured reserve, but appeared in 15 combined regular season and postseason games for Roanoke. In those 15 games played, Valerian tallied one goal, six assists, and a plus-three rating from the blue line. The 29-year-old initially joined the Dawgs in February 2022, starting his pro career by netting his first goal less than three minutes into his debut game against Knoxville. In the 2022-2023 season, Valerian put up one of the stronger campaigns among all SPHL blue-liners, with six goals, 16 assists, a team-best plus-22 plus/minus (fourth among all SPHL defensemen), and 88 penalty minutes. Valerian went on to record one assist and a plus-five plus/minus during the 2023 President’s Cup Playoffs. As a rookie, the Gates Mills, Ohio native notched two goals and three assists in 17 regular season games and appeared in all nine of Roanoke’s games during the 2022 President’s Cup Playoffs. Prior to signing with Roanoke, Valerian played four seasons at New England College (NCAA-DIII) after transferring from Hobart College (NCAA-DIII) after one season.
Lindberg joined the Dawgs initially on a player tryout contract back on February 5 from the FPHL’s Baton Rouge Zydeco, having played previously for five other SPHL teams and both the FPHL’s Blue Ridge Bobcats and Watertown Wolves prior to making his way to Louisiana. In three games for the Dawgs, the right-shot blue-liner has two assists, a plus-two rating, and seven penalty minutes. Lindberg appeared last season for Quad City and Knoxville in the SPHL, and has played games this season for Macon, Fayetteville, and Peoria. In 20 combined career SPHL appearances, the six-foot-one defenseman has four assists, 22 penalty minutes, and a minus-two rating. In 54 combined FPHL games played, the 22-year-old has nine goals, 15 assists, 87 penalty minutes, and a plus-five rating. Prior to turning pro, Lindberg played junior hockey primarily in the OJHL and GOJHL, along with stints in the GMHL and NA3HL. The East Aurora, New York native is the younger brother of Benjamin Lindberg, who previously played in the SPHL for the Evansville Thunderbolts and is currently with the ECHL’s Worcester Railers.
The Rail Yard Dawgs are back at home on Thursday, February 20 against the Knoxville Ice Bears at Berglund Center. Puck drop is slated for 7:05 P.M. EST in the Star City. Single game tickets for the season are on sale now online and at Berglund Center box office.
Photo Credit: Michele Hancock (Lindberg) / Keith Lucas (Valerian)
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