WORCESTER RAILERS HC ANNOUNCE FIVE SIGNINGS FOR 2026-27 SEASON

Presented by Fly Worcester: Railers officially have eleven forwards, seven defensemen, one goaltender signed for upcoming season.

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester Railers Hockey Club (@RailersHC), proud ECHL (@ECHL) affiliate of the St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues), and Head Coach & General Manager Nick Tuzzolino, announced today that the club has signed forwards Jordan Kaplan and Tyson Fawcett, defensemen Cam McDonald and Will van der Veen, and goaltender William Lavallière to ECHL contracts for the 2026-27 season.

McDonald, 25, re-signs with Worcester for his third professional season. The Railers first signed McDonald to an ECHL contract ahead of the 2025-26 season following his rookie year under contract with the Bridgeport Islanders.

Last season in Worcester, The Eagle River, AK native was second amongst Railers defensemen in games played (63) and assists (12). McDonald led all Railers defensemen and had the second best +/- rating amongst all Railers skaters at +9. All-time, McDonald is ninth amongst all Railers defensemen in games played with 98, one behind Trevor Cosgrove at 99 for eighth. Prior to professional hockey, the 5'9", 174lb defenseman played five seasons with the Providence College Friars. Across his 162 career games at the NCAA level, he totaled 31 points (9G, 22A) along with a +14 rating. McDonald served as the captain for the Friars in 23-24, tying his career high in points at seven, and recording a new high in assists at six.

Kaplan, 29, signs in Worcester for his sixth professional season. The Railers first acquired Kaplan from the Newfoundland Growlers for two games during the 22-23 season before signing him to a contract for the 24-25 & 25-26 seasons.

Last season, the Bridgewater, NJ native was traded to the Wheeling Nailers at the beginning of the year for 16 games before playing in 25 games for the Cincinnati Cyclones. Kaplan re-joined Worcester for nine games at the end of the 25-26 season where he had six points (1G, 5A) in nine games. The 5' 10", 170 lb forward played in a career high 68 games for Worcester during the 24-25 season, which was good for second most among forwards and fifth on the team. Kaplan set career highs in goals (18), assists (31) and points (49) during the 2024-25 campaign, along with penalty minutes (108). He was third on the team in points behind only Anthony Repaci (65) and Connor Welsh (57).

Fawcett, 33, signs in Worcester for his 13th professional season.

The Barrie, ON native played in 70 games for the Adirondack Thunder during the 2025-26 season, collecting 18 points (9G, 9A) along with 47 penalty minutes. Fawcett has made stops in the ECHL with ten organizations, including Adirondack, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, Reading Royals, Atlanta Gladiators, Jacksonville IceMen, Fort Wayne Komets, Tulsa Oilers, Elmira Jackals, Evansville IceMen, and Brampton Beast. In 509 total ECHL games, the 5'7", 165 lb forward has 184 points to go with 338 penalty minutes. Fawcett spent four seasons in the EIHL with the Manchester Storm from 2019-2023, playing in 168 games while scoring 88 points (41G, 47A). Fawcett saw two games of American Hockey League action with the Rochester Americans during the 2016-17 season. Fawcett has played in 21 games against Worcester all-time, having recorded an assist in his first ever visit to the DCU Center with the Jacksonville IceMen on January 19th, 2018.

van der Veen, 24, signs in Worcester for his first full season in the ECHL.

The Duxbury, MA native spent the end of the 2024-25 season and the 2025-26 season playing for the Evansville Thunderbolts of the Southern Professional Hockey League. In 61 regular season games with Evansville, the 6'5", 229lb defenseman had 16 points (5G, 11A) to go with 109 penalty minutes and a +4 rating. van der Veen played in 12 playoff games for the champion Thunderbolts during the 25-26 playoffs, tallying two assists and 20 penalty minutes along with a +7 rating. Additionally, van der Veen played in four games for the Tulsa Oilers during the 25-26 season. Prior to professional hockey, van der Veen played four seasons of NCAA III hockey between Saint Anselm College and Bowdoin College, where he had 23 points in 73 collegiate games. Locally, he played at Milton Academy in Milton, MA as well as at Duxbury High School in Duxbury, MA.

Lavallière, 33, signs in Worcester for his first full season in the ECHL. The Railers had signed Lavallière for two games during the 2025-26 season.

Prior to his two games with the Railers last season, the Montréal, Quebec native joined the Railers following five games played for the Trois-Rivières Lions, where he amassed a 1.79 goals against average along with a .934 save percentage and a 3-1-0 record. Preceding his time with Trois-Rivières, the 6'0", 205lb goaltender played for the Athens Rock Lobsters of the FPHL to open the 2025-26 season, collecting a 15-3-0 record, a 3.10 GAA, and a .906 SV% in 34 games played. All-time in the Federal Prospects Hockey League, Lavallière has a .917 save percentage to go with a 2.86 goals against average and a 36-13-0 record.

The Railers have announced nineteen players officially signed for the 2026-27 season, as McDonald, Kaplan, Fawcett, van der Veen, and Lavallière join Matt DeMelis, MacAuley Carson, Dalton Duhart, Matthew Hobbs, Riley Piercey, Riley Ginnell, Adam Samuelsson, Vinny Corcoran, Lincoln Hatten, Michael Suda, Declan McDonnell, Connor Federkow, Gabe Blanchard, and Anthony Repaci on this season's roster. More announcements are expected over the coming weeks. 

Worcester Regional Airport is the official airport of the Worcester Railers HC and presenting partner of all Railers transactions.

The 508 Club is now on sale for the 2026-27 season! Get access to games, exclusive events and additional benefits by calling the Railers front office at 508-365-1750 or by visiting RailersHC.com.

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