Mark McGill becomes the first player to make the Invicta Dynamos roster ahead of the new campaign.

Building from the back for 2015/16, the 23 year old Scottish shot stopper is the first to put pen to paper on a new deal as the Dynamos plan for next season.

A former teammate of Adam McNicoll, McGill joined the club in late January and arrived in Gillingham having performed the role of understudy in the Elite League for the Dundee Stars and Edinburgh Capitals.

A largely unknown quantity south of the border, the shot stopper soon made his name in the NIHL South’s top tier with a string of excellent performances helping guide the Dynamos to a second place finish in the league – their highest position in five seasons.

However arguably his best display came under the greatest pressure as he backstopped the Mos to a 5-3 victory over the Chelmsford Chieftains in the NIHL Southern Cup Final to end a five year wait for silverware in Gillingham.

McGill was instrumental in the result denying all but three of 42 attempts on his net to claim a save percentage of 92.86%.

The Scot’s cup final heroics were far from a fluke as he concluded the season having appeared 19 times for the Dynamos and turned away 631 of 698 shots in the process for a final stopping rate of 90.40%.

Now the formidable goalie will be looking for more of the same if not better as he pens a contract that will extend his stay at the Silver Blades for a further season.

Speaking on the re-signing of Mark McGill, Head Coach Kevin Parrish said, “Mark might only have arrived at the end of January but what a stellar end to the campaign he had!”

“He instantly slotted into the side, connected with the supporters and stood on his head between the posts. He was a major factor in our cup success, proved to be a fantastic find and I’m delighted he has agreed to return for a full season come the start of 2015/16.”

“Any team that hopes to be successful needs a cool head and assured hands in net and with Mark we have definitely ticked that box.”

“I look forward to him arriving in Kent for the start of the new season and I know he is already raring for a return to action”.

Meanwhile McGill affirmed his coach’s comments when he said, “I’m very happy to be back at Invicta for another year and can’t wait for the season ahead. The fan base at the club is phenomenal and it’s great to play in front of that support week in and week out.”

“It was special lifting the NIHL Cup on home ice and hopefully we can do more of the same next season”.

Mark McGill is the first player announced by the Dynamos for 2015/16 with further signings to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

Pictures supplied by David Trevallion.