On Tuesday November 10th, the Jacksonville Icemen announced the signing of American forward Eric Neiley. The two sides agreed to terms on a standard player contract for the upcoming season. This will be his first with the Jacksonville Icemen and his fifth year in the ECHL.
During the 2019-20 season, Neiley tallied a team-leading 55 points in 59 games for the Atlanta Gladiators. Neiley, a right-handed shooter, spent the last two seasons in the EIHL. He did so with the Sheffield Steelers and the Milton Keynes Lightning from 2017-2019.
The 5’11 high-scoring forward recorded 26 goals along with 25 assists for 51 points while overseas in England. He did so in 68 games.
Prior to taking his talents abroad, the native of Warminster, PA spent time with both Atlanta and the Adirondack Thunder. This also included seven games with the Providence Bruins in the AHL. Neiley played collegiate hockey with the Dartmouth Big Green in the NCAA. There, he scored 45 goals along with 49 assists which made for 94 points. He managed to collect those totals from 2011-2015.
Neiley joins forwards Abbott Girduckis, Adam Dauda, Ara Nazarian, Brendan Warren, Cameron Critchlow and Craig Martin. This also includes Ian McKinnon, Nathan Perkovich and Wacey Rabbit. On defence, they have Dalton Thrower, Jacob Cederholm Jarod Hilderman Kevin McKernan as well as Luke Shiplo.
The Icemen are apart of the group who will return to the ice on December 11th. Training camps can open as early as Thursday, November 26 (Thanksgiving Day in the US), and once players have tested negative, they can begin on-ice sessions the following day.