Dan Bremner became the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs head coach in 2017, making him the youngest head coach in the Southern Professional Hockey League at that time. Under his leadership, the team has made the playoffs every year, was a semifinalist in the 2018-19 season and a finalist in the 2021-22 season. His restructuring led the team on a winning streak that was the longest in the SPHL that year, and thanks to these efforts, Rail Yard Dawgs have had the best attendance in history in the 2021-22 season.

On May 2, the Rail Yard Dawgs won the President’s Cup for the first time in franchise history, defeating the Birmingham Bulls 2-1 in a Game Four overtime victory at Berglund Center, lifting the Roanoke team to its first-ever SPHL championship.