Reading Royals Review

TMLfans.ca guest columnist Barry Schickling, returns with one of his regular updates on the Leafs prospects playing for the Reading Royals of the East Coast Hockey League.

The Royals Review

(Nov. 2-15)

READING, Pa. – There’s a good news and not-quite-as-good news scenario coming from the Reading Royals the last two weeks. The good news is that the Royals are playing well, riding a two-game winning streak and are just two points out of first place in the North Division of the ECHL. The not-quite-as-good news is that the Maple Leafs and Marlies assigned to the club haven’t exactly been at the forefront of the team’s good fortunes.

Here’s a look at what the Toronto-contracted players have been up to over the past two weeks:

Stefano Giliati – The LW who was the ECHL Player of the Week from Oct. 26-Nov. 1 has come back down to earth. Although he’s had just one point (a goal) in the last five games, he still leads the team in goals and assists. And that goal, which came short-handed during a game in Johnstown, capped a four-goal comeback for the Royals. (Despite the comeback, the Royals ended up losing the game anyway.) Seems that word has gotten around that he’s someone to whom opposing defences must pay attention. (7G- 8A – +2 – 8PIM).

Joey Ryan – Didn’t accomplish much in the last two weeks, mostly because of a stay on the three-day injured reserve list caused him to miss a couple of games. (1G – 2A – -3 – 23PIM).

Eric Werner – The Gross Pointe Woods, Mich. native Is tied for the team lead in scoring by defencemen and is second on the team with a +5 rating. He’s also seeing plenty of power play time. He’s also getting chances to participate in the shootout. Unfortunately, he’s 0-for-2 this season. (1G – 4A – +5 – 17PIM).

Andrew Engelage – After being injured in his AHL debut with the Marlies, the rookie G finally has been assigned to Reading, where he’s expected to spend most of his first pro season. His first two ECHL starts were successes although not necessarily outstanding from a stats standpoint. But in his first victory, he stopped 3-of-5 attempts in the shootout. (2-0 – 2.88 GAA – .872 SV%)

One other note: G Beau Erickson, who played for the Marlies during their preseason tour in Scotland and also was on a PTO with the AHL club during the time when Vesa Toskala, Jonas Gustavsson and Engelage were all injured, was released by the Royals on Nov. 10. He was 2-1 with a 2.94 GAA in the ECHL. Since the Royals have affiliations with the Leafs/Marlies and Boston Bruins this season, Erickson was the odd man out..