WORCESTER RAILERS HC ANNOUNCE FOUR SIGNINGS FOR 2026-27 SEASON

Railers officially have nine forwards, five defensemen signed for the 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 Matt DeMelis, MacAuley Carson, Dalton Duhart, and Matthew Hobbs to ECHL contracts for the 2026-27 season.

DeMelis, 27, re-signs in Worcester for his third professional season. The Railers first signed DeMelis as a free agent out of Northeastern University ahead of the 2024-25 season.

The Hingham, MA native was one of two skaters to have played in all 72 games for Worcester during the 2025-26 season, along with Railers captain Anthony Repaci. DeMelis set career-highs in each goals (19), assists (23) and points (42), finishing third among all Railers skaters in goals while placing fourth in assists and points. DeMelis is 11th all-time in points (68) in Railers franchise history, two behind Jacob Hayhurst entering the season for 10th on the all-time list. Prior to professional hockey, the 6'1", 190 lb forward played five seasons of collegiate hockey at Northeastern. Across his five-year career with the Huskies, DeMelis had 50 points (20G, 30A) in 152 games played. He won three Beanpot Championships at Northeastern, including back-to-back championships while scoring the game-tying goal against Boston University in the 2024 Beanpot Championship.

Carson, 27, re-signs in Worcester for his second professional season. The Railers first acquired Carson in a trade with the Jacksonville Icemen on November 24th, 2025.

In 36 games played for Worcester, Carson had seven goals to go with 12 assists and 19 points. The Midhurst, ON native had a stretch of 14 points in 15 games for Worcester during the 25-26 season from January 24th to March 30th, as he scored four goals to go with ten assists in that span. The 6'1", 203lb forward was named the Worcester Railers Seven Hills 7th Player Award Winner, in addition to the Railers Player of the Month for the month of March as voted on by the Worcester Railers Booster Club members. He began his professional career after wrapping up his collegiate career at the University of New Brunswick (UNB). Carson totaled 44 points (14G, 30A) with 182 penalty minutes in 100 games played for the Varsity Reds from 2021-2022, while winning two USports University Cup titles in 2023 & 2024, and four AUS Conference Championships in all four seasons he played at UNB (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025).

Duhart, 25, re-signs in Worcester for his third professional season. The Railers first acquired Duhart in a trade with the Indy Fuel on March 18th, 2026.

Duhart played in four games for Worcester at the end of the season, notching a goal and an assist to go with a +2 rating. In 54 games with the Icemen last season, the 6'0", 181lb forward had 16 points (8G, 8A) to go with ten penalty minutes. The Grand Blanc, MI native has appeared in games for the Icemen, Bloomington Bison, and Kansas City Mavericks across his two-year career. In 96 ECHL games, Duhart has 27 points (12G, 15A) to go with 37 penalty minutes.

Hobbs, 27, signs in Worcester for his first full season in the ECHL.

The 6'0", 207 lb forward has spent the past four full seasons in the Southern Professional Hockey League with the Evansville Thunderbolts, serving as their captain each the past two campaigns. Hobbs is a two-time SPHL champion with the Thunderbolts, having led Evansville to President's Cups in each the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. In 28 SPHL playoff games, Hobbs has 16 points (2G, 14A) to go with 48 penalty minutes. In 227 SPHL regular season games, Hobbs has 96 points (38G, 58A) to go with 554 penalty minutes. The Burlington, ON native began the 2021-22 season in Sweden before returning to the United States to play for the Birmingham Bulls and Thunderbolts of the SPHL. Hobbs played in two games that season for the Newfoundland Growlers, picking up an assist to go with seven penalty minutes.

The Railers have announced fourteen players officially signed for the 2026-27 season, as DeMelis, Carson, Duhart and Hobbs join 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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