The Rockford IceHogs today announced that forward Riley McKay has signed an American Hockey League contract with the club for the 2021-22 season.
Riley spent his 16-year-old season in the MJHL playing for his hometown Swan Valley Stampeders. During the 2015-16 season, McKay scored 12 goals and 22 assists in 54 games before making the jump to the WHL.
McKay, 22, earned one assist in 12 games with the IceHogs last season and ranked fifth on the team with 25 penalty minutes.
“Riley made great strides last season with all of the development work we were doing before practice,” said IceHogs Head Coach Derek King. “He made huge improvements on his stickhandling, shooting, and skating, and his pace picked up and was noticeable near the end of the season. For a guy like that who plays with a little edge, I expect him to come into camp and fight for a position.”
Before turning pro, McKay completed four seasons in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Saskatoon Blades and Spokane Chiefs, totaling 87 points (38 G, 49A) and 517 penalty minutes over 243 career games. The 6-foot, 203-pound forward was a teammate of current Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach during the 2018-19 season with Saskatoon and led the WHL with 149 penalty minutes.
