Duluth, GA - The Atlanta Gladiators, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Nashville Predators and the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals, announced on Tuesday via the team’s YouTube channel that the team has re-signed forward Mike McNamee for the 2026-27 season.

McNamee, 33, re-signs with the Gladiators after posting 7 goals and 18 assists for 25 points in 56 games last season. The 2025-26 campaign marked McNamee’s return to professional hockey following a four-year hiatus in which he retired from the game to focus on his band, Boston Levi, and coach at his alma mater, Carleton University, as an assistant coach. 

The native of Perth, ON, scored 2 goals and 2 assists in 10 games with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in the 2020-21 season before announcing his retirement.

The product of Carleton University completed his collegiate career in 2017 with 50 goals and 84 assists in 102 career games and signed with the Syracuse Crunch for the remainder of the season. McNamee then played professionally in Germany, Denmark, Wales, and Greenville; and later returned to Carleton to coach, before first signing with the Gladiators in 2025. 

“Mike does so many things that help the team win. It was impressive how much he contributed to our team both on and off the ice after such a long layoff,” said Gladiators’ Head Coach & Director of Hockey Operations, Matt Ginn. “Mike plays a mature game where he wins battles, gets to the hard areas and is excellent in the dot. I expect him to take another step offensively now that he is fully back in the swing of things,” he said.

Ginn praised McNamee for his leadership qualities saying, “Mike’s leadership is important to our group, and we’re thrilled to be bringing him back to Atlanta for another season.”

Mike McNamee joins Max Neill, Connor Caponi, Kyle Pow, Anthony Cipollone, Joey Cipollone, Jack Blake, Stephen Calisti, Ryan Nolan, Kirklan Irey, Sam Tremblay, Mickey Burns, Ethan Strang, Corson Hopwo, Andrew Jarvis, Josh Winquist, and Ryan Conroy as players who have signed with the Gladiators for the 2026-27 season. 

The Gladiators are announcing player signings LIVE on the Atlanta Gladiators YouTube channel! Subscribe for exclusive content and stay up to date with the latest signings as the 2026-27 roster takes shape with live announcements on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 6:00 PM Eastern. 

The Gladiators home opener is set for October 17^th at Gas South Arena at 7:10 PM! Single game tickets are available HERE, or secure your seats with a season ticket package by calling our sales hotline at 770-497-5100! 

Maroon is back, shop the Gladiators’ new look HERE! Replica jerseys, apparel, collectibles and more are available for purchase, get yours now while supplies last! 

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