The Orlando Solar Bears continued their preparation for the upcoming season by making two transactions on Tuesday, signing defensemen Patrick McNally and trading veteran forward Peter MacArthur. Orlando received future considerations while trading MacArthur to the Adirondack Thunder.
The Solar Bears initially signed MacArthur on July 8th to provide a veteran presence in the lineup. Instead, MacArthur returns to the Thunder where he’s played 164 games and currently sits second in points and fourth in goals all-time.
Orlando completed their busy day by adding McNally, a puck-moving defensemen. McNally returns to the league after playing last season overseas in Slovakia with HK Nitra and MAC Újbuda. In 55 games, he recorded 37 points, having scored four goals along with 33 assists. This also includes 76 penalty minutes.
He’s also played 94 games with the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL. In those 94 games, the defensemen has tallied 18 points, having scored four goals along with 14 assists. this also includes 47 penalty minutes.
In a continued trend of Orlando’s offseason signings, there is a bit of familiarity between Patrick McNally and Michael Brodzinski. McNally’s previous ECHL stint saw him play in 29 games with the Worcester Railers in 2017-18. Impressively, McNally’s 24 points (12G-12A) led all Railers defensemen in scoring despite playing less than half of a season with the hockey club.
Collegiately, the left-handed shooter played with the Harvard Crimson of the ECAC. In 82 career games with Harvard, McNally recorded 60 points, scoring 14 goals along with 46 assists. He also added 68 penalty minutes while helping lead the Crimson to an ECAC championship in 2015.
In an interview with broadcaster Jesse Liebman, McNally described that his intentions were to return to Europe this season, but the continuing COVID-19 pandemic altered his plans for 2020-21. Along with being a puck moving, high scoring defenseman, McNally does not neglect his defensive duties. Over his five previous pro seasons, McNally has a +47 plus/minus overall between the ECHL, AHL, and European leagues.
With just one month to go until opening night, the Solar Bears continue to make transactions to solidify their defence while increasing the scoring they sorely lacked in 2019-20.