ROANOKE, VA. – The Rail Yard Dawgs announced on Wednesday that the team has signed rookie forward Daniel Chladek and rookie defenseman Andrew Manley. Additionally, the team has placed both forward Justin Cmunt and defenseman Gehrig Lindberg on waivers.
Manley enters his professional career out of Morrisville State College (NCAA-DIII), becoming the tenth former Mustang to join the Dawgs out of the SUNY school. In three seasons at Morrisville, the six-foot-three defenseman notched two goals, 16 assists, and 28 penalty minutes in 69 games played at the collegiate level. Prior to entering college, the Whitesboro, New York native played his junior hockey with the Utica Jr. Comets teams in both the USPHL Premier and NCDC divisions, racking up a total of seven goals, 45 assists, and 64 penalty minutes in 77 total games played over two years. Manley joins the likes of CJ Stubbs, Nick DeVito, Chris Vella, Jordan Carvalho, Matt Beer, Jesse Anderson, Henry Hearon, Curtis Abbott, and Cameron Clark as former Morrisville State players that have appeared with Roanoke.
Chladek enters the professional ranks out of Augsburg University (NCAA-DIII), where he suited up under assistant coach and former Dawgs defenseman Jarrad Vroman. In his three years at Augsburg, the six-foot-two forward tallied 19 goals, 28 assists, 48 penalty minutes, and a plus-three rating in 74 career games played. The Anaheim, California native played three seasons of junior hockey for the BCHL’s Wenatchee Wild and NAHL’s Bismark Bobcats, winning the BCHL in 2018 with the Wild. In his junior career, Chladek notched 39 goals, 40 assists, 118 penalty minutes, and a plus-18 rating over 129 games played between the two leagues.
Cmunt is in his second full professional season, lacing up his skates for Pergine in Italy’s second division to start this season. In 18 games played for Pergine, the five-foot-eleven winger tallied seven goals, 11 assists, and 13 penalty minutes. In 11 games for Roanoke after debuting on January 25 at Fayettevile, Cmunt recorded two goals, two assists, and four penalty minutes with the Dawgs. Cmunt began his professional career at the end of the 2022-2023 season when he played two games for the Fayetteville Marksmen, and spent all of last season in the SPHL with both the Macon Mayhem and the Ice Bears. In 42 career SPHL games prior to this year, the East Amherst, New York native registered 11 goals, seven assists, and four penalty minutes. Nine of his career SPHL appearances came against Roanoke, and the 26-year-old forward notched three goals and three assists in those matchups against the Dawgs. Prior to turning pro, Cmunt spent two seasons at Mercyhurst University (NCAA-DI) before transferring to SUNY-Geneseo (NCAA-DIII). At Mercyhurst, Cmunt recorded six goals, three assists, and 16 penalty minutes in 38 games, then managed to put up 23 goals, 16 assists, 8 penalty minutes, and a plus-26 rating in 45 games for Geneseo. Cmunt was also a teammate of current Dawg Aidan Girduckis and former Dawg Travis Broughman for the Carleton Place Canadians of the CCHL from 2016-18.
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 six games for the Dawgs, the right-shot blue-liner had two assists, a plus-three 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 23 combined career SPHL appearances, the six-foot-one defenseman has four assists, 22 penalty minutes, and a minus-one 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 Friday, February 28 against the Pensacola Ice Flyers 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.
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