St. Charles Chill Ink Steve Makway and Riley Emmerson

St. Charles Chill head coach and general manager, Jamie Rivers, has added a little veteran presence for the Chill's upcoming inaugural season. Forward Riley Emmerson and defensemen Steve Makway join the organization on one-year deals, adding certain skill sets that the Chill will needed this season.

Makway, 30, is expected to be a force on the blue-line for the Chill, adding toughness and a flair for offense. Makway is coming off a 13 goal season with the Bloomington Blaze. Makway originally signed a one year deal with the Denver Cutthroats, playing four games (adding two assists), before being traded to the Blaze. Makway added 32 assists with Bloomington, finishing the year with 47 points, a career high for Makway. The 13 goals with Bloomington is a career high for him, as his previous high was 11 goals with the Mississippi Riverkings in the 2007-08 season. His career high point total was also from that 2007-08 season, registering 43 that year.

Makway also adds a lot of toughness to the back-end. Registering 68 fights in his Central Hockey League career, he's amassed 974 penalty minutes. His size certainly helps him when the fisticuffs occur. Standing at 6'5, 230 pounds, Makway is a force to be reckoned with.

This won't be the first time Makway calls St. Charles home, as he played for the Missouri River Otters back in the 2005-06 season. He played 31 games for the River Otters in the season, scoring five goals, five assists and adding 60 penalty minutes.

Emmerson, 27, joins the Chill organization, coming off his best offensive season of his career. His five goals last season with the Missouri Mavericks beats his former career high of two goals scored, a feat in which he has accomplished four times in his career. Emmerson's six points ties a career high, a feat he's accomplished with the Stockton Thunder of the East Coast Hockey League in the 2009-10 season.

Emmerson has something that you cannot teach, and that is his size. Standing at a towering 6'8 and weighing in at 250 pounds, it's not often Emmerson finds many opponents bigger than he is. On the ice he's a physical threat, known for throwing his body around as well as throwing his fists. He's a very tough customer, and isn't afraid to throw the mitts down. He amassed 95 penalty minutes in 55 games last season with the Mavericks. Previously he's posted 646 penalty minutes in 252 games in the ECHL.

Emmerson's job will be to protect the smaller skilled players on the Chill's roster, including former ECHL MVP, Chad Costello, along with skilled forwards Kyle O'Kane and Kyle Kraemer.