Reading Royals Review

The Royals Review

(Feb. 8-21)

READING, Pa. – Here are some notes of interest concerning players with Marlies connections (with this season’s ECHL statistics).

Ben Gordon – His goal against Trenton helped him become the 20th player in Reading history to score 20 goals in a season. He has 20 multi-point games this season.
His 21 goals equals his ECHL total from last year which was accomplished in 63 games. Still leads team in G, A, P and shots. His five-game point streak ended in the second game at Elmira. He’s seventh in the league in scoring. He’s still getting lots of ice time and working hard but the entire team has been going through lots of changes and struggling and he’s also been feeling those effects.

Robert Slaney – Was the second star for his three-assist game — a win over Trenton. Two of those assists came on the power play. Has been seeing a fair amount of ice time since returning from Toronto but hasn’t been doing too much with it.

Andrew Engelage – In his first ECHL game since Dec. 27, he allowed three goals in just over two periods — one even-strength, one power play and one short-handed.
Early in the third period of that game, with Reading on a power play, a turnover gave Trenton’s Jeremy Akeson a short-handed break. Engelage stopped Akeson’s first shot, but on the second shot Engelage appeared to sustain an injury as he fell face down and did not move. As Engelage was down and out, play continued until Akeson retrieved the puck, skated to the net and forced the puck through a defender for a goal. Despite the Royals’ protests that the play should have been stopped because of the injury, the goal was allowed. Prior to the injury he stopped 29 of 32 shots. Leads team in GAA. He’s on his second straight 3-day I.R. stint. He’s played so little this season, whether in Toronto or Reading, that it’s hard to imagine he’s made much progress.

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Barry Schickling can be contacted at Barry.DoubleSMedia@rocketmail.com

Reading Royals Review

The Royals Review

(Jan. 25-Feb. 7)

READING, Pa. – The difficulties of maintaining a winning minor-league hockey team are becoming much more evident for the Reading Royals. With about two months left in the regular season, the ECHL affiliate of the Maple Leafs and Marlies has lost players to call-ups at an alarming pace over the past several weeks – a rate that has made what looked like a fairly steady route to the playoffs much rockier. Reading has lost three straight, six of its last seven and is on a 5-10-0-1 skid. The Royals have slipped out of first place in the division for the first time since Dec. 4 and are five points behind East leader Elmira and four points out of a playoff spot.

More specifically, for the first time since the Leafs started their affiliation with Reading prior to the 2008-09 season, there are no Toronto-contracted players on the roster. As such, the Royals have resorted to waiver claims, and players from the International and Southern Professional leagues to keep a full lineup. Regular player movement from the Boston Bruins, a co-affiliate of Reading with the Leafs, also hasn’t helped the situation.

Here are some notes of interest concerning players with Marlies connections (with this season’s ECHL statistics).

Ben Gordon – The LW, who spent a couple weeks with the Marlies in late December and early January, had a third AHL call-up of the season, this time to Abbotsford. He’s returned to Reading but has gone into his first extended slump of the year. He needed a short-handed assist in a loss to Trenton on Feb. 6 to stop a four-game pointless streak, his longest of the season. His frequent call-ups, along with his having to adjust to a different lineup almost every night, have hurt both his performance and the team’s win-loss record. The good news is he continues to lead the team in goals, assists, points and shots (156) and plus/minus and is seeing plenty of ice time in all situations. In a three-game span between Jan. 27-31 he had 20 shots – but no points. (40GP-19G – 32A –+9 – 35 PIM) (Under contract to Reading.)

Eric Werner – The fifth-year pro defenceman must have seen the writing on the wall. As the only Toronto player in Reading who had yet to be recalled this season, he left the Royals and signed with Oslo Vålerenga in the Norwegian elite league. He has a pair of assists and is a plus-1 in his first four games in Norway. (Incidentally, another defenceman on that team is Regan Kelly, who played with the St. John’s Maple Leafs from 2002-05.) The Royals will struggle to find someone to absorb Werner’s quality ice time. (38GP-3G – 15A – +17 – 25 PIM)

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Barry Schickling can be contacted at Barry.DoubleSMedia@rocketmail.com

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 ECHL.

The Royals Review

(Jan. 11-24)
READING, Pa. – As the 2009-10 season unfolds, it appears the Maple Leafs and Marlies are facing an uphill challenge in their attempts to reach the playoffs in their respective leagues. But the Reading Royals, the Leafs’ ECHL secondary affiliate, continue to hold down first place in the East Division and their prospects of qualifying for the 2010 Kelly Cup Playoffs look decent. With 42 games played and 30 to go in the regular season, Reading has a four-point lead in the division over Elmira. The division winner automatically qualifies for the playoffs. However, the rest of American Conference standings are tight, so the Royals would be best served to win the East and not worry about having to clinch one of the five remaining playoff spots.

Here’s what the Toronto-contracted players have been up to over the past two weeks (with this season’s ECHL statistics).

Stefano Giliati – The winger got into just a couple games with Reading before he was recalled to the Marlies for the second time this season. While with Reading, he was one of 13 players who missed his shootout attempt in a loss to Florida. He’s got three goals with the Marlies. (26GP-10G –125A –+2 – 25 PIM)

Ben Gordon – Prior to being recalled to the Marlies on a tryout, Gordon was having a good season. Since his return to Reading, it’s been getting even better. In the space of eight days, he was the third star in a loss to Florida, the second star in a win over Elmira and was first star in a victory against Trenton when he assisted on the game-winning goal with 1.2 seconds left. As a starter and alternate captain for the victorious American Conference team in the ECHL All-Star Game in Ontario, Calif., he was credited with an assist and had three shots, although he was a minus-three. In addition to leading the team in goals, assists, points and shots (131), he’s fourth in the league in points. He has at least a point in 24 of his last 28 games with Reading and is the 16th player in team history to record 50 points in a season. In 19 games this year, he’s recorded more than one point. However, there’s no truth to the rumour that he was selling programmes prior to a recent game. (35GP-19G – 31A –+11 – 31 PIM) (Under contract to Reading.)

Joey Ryan – The Stoneham, Mass. native had a quick turnaround. Five days after being returned to Reading by the Marlies, he was recalled to Toronto for the second time this season. (27GP-2G – 5A – -2 – 39 PIM)

Eric Werner – Perhaps the unsung hero of the club, the fifth-year pro continues to shine on the defence corps. He leads the team in plus/minus and he’s still seeing lots of ice time. At 5-10 and 185, he doesn’t have the size and physical bite to his game that most teams are looking for from their defenders but he’s handling everything else very well. (38GP-3G – 15A – +17 – 25 PIM)

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Barry Schickling can be contacted at Barry.DoubleSMedia@rocketmail.com

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 ECHL.

The Royals Review

(Dec. 29-Jan. 10)
READING, Pa. – It’s fairly common for minor-league teams at the “AA” level to struggle this time of year, particularly as a result of injuries, recalls and player loans. At one point early this month the Reading Royals, ECHL affiliate of the Maple Leafs and Marlies, had 14 such affected players. Reading even had to play with a less than full 16-skater roster for a few games in the last couple weeks. But when the Marlies returned left wing Ben Gordon (who had been on a tryout contract) and defenceman Joey Ryan to Pennsylvania, the Royals snapped back to life and earned a convincing 7-3 win over Florida on Jan. 9 and bumped their East Division lead back to five points over Elmira. Reading has reached the mid-point of its schedule with a 20-13-1-2 mark.

Here’s a look at what the Toronto-contracted players have been up to over the past two weeks (with this season’s ECHL statistics).

Ben Gordon – After his seven-game stint with the Marlies, during which he scored twice and added three assists, Gordon returned to Reading still flying high. The International Falls, Minn. native who was ECHL Player of the Month in December (the first Royal to ever earn that honour), contributed four assists in a win against Florida on Jan. 10 and leads the team in goals, assists, points, shots and plus-minus despite having played in only 29 of the team’s 36 games. He’s fourth in the ECHL in scoring, has a point in six straight ECHL games and has multiple points in 17 games for Reading this season. (29GP-16G – 28A –+12 – 29 PIM) (Under contract to Reading.)

Joey Ryan – The second-year pro defenceman played five games with the Marlies prior to returning to Reading. In his first game back with the Royals he played a conservative, steady game, good for a +2 rating. Almost all his ice time in that game came in even-strength situations. (26GP-2G – 5A – -2 – 39 PIM)

Eric Werner – Now second on the team in plus/minus, the fifth-year pro defenceman is the class of the Royals’ blue line. He’s been a plus in eight of his last 10 games, leads the team’s defencemen in assists and has four-multi-point games this season. He quarterbacks the first power-play unit and sees lots of ice time in all situations. (32GP-3G – 12A – +11 – 23 PIM)

Blast from the past: One of the players who suited up for Florida in its game at Reading on Jan. 10 was former Toronto and St. John’s Maple Leaf Paul Healey. The Edmonton native, a former Prince Albert (OHL) star, played 65 games with the Leafs and 75 games with the Baby Leafs from 2001-03. Now 34, he played in Sweden, Finland and Austria the last three seasons. The 1993 eighth-round draft choice of Philadelphia has four goals and three assists in 10 games with the Everblades this season.

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Barry Schickling can be contacted at Barry.DoubleSMedia@rocketmail.com

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 ECHL.

The Royals Review

(Dec. 14-Dec. 28)

READING, Pa. – The last couple weeks have been productive ones for the Royals. Despite playing only two home games this month, Reading has rolled to a nine-point lead over Elmira in the East Division of the ECHL’s American Conference. With a record of 18-10-1-2, Reading has ascended to second place in the 12-team conference. The down side is that injuries and other recalls in Toronto, especially with the Marlies, have left the Royals to start the last week of 2009 with just two players under contract to the Blue and White. Things have been going so well in Reading that the Marlies even signed LW Ben Gordon to a pro tryout contract. Gordon, who played a couple games in the AHL with Providence earlier this season, added a goal in his second outing with Toronto in a loss at Hamilton on Dec. 28.

Here’s a look at what the Toronto-contracted players have been up to over the past two weeks (with this season’s ECHL statistics).

Stefano Giliati – The left winger had both a goal and an assist in a pair of games with Reading prior to his recall to the Marlies. He added a goal for the Marlies in a loss at Hamilton on Dec. 28. (10G- 12A – +2 – 25 PIM)

Joey Ryan – The second-year pro was recalled to the Marlies along with Giliati. The defenceman was showing some improvement in the ECHL prior to being summoned to the AHL. (2G – 4A – -5 – 37 PIM)

Eric Werner – The defender has taken over the team lead in plus-minus and is playing well and confidently at both ends of the ice. He had a pair of assists in a win at Trenton (Dec. 27) and one of those came on the OT game winner. He’s tied for seventh in team scoring among active Royals. Considering that many of Reading’s top players are now in the AHL, Werner could very well end up as an all-star representative. (3G – 9A – +10 – 19 PIM)

Andrew Engelage – The former Windsor Spitfire star has finally returned to Reading after an extended stay with the Marlies. In his first game back in the ECHL, he stopped 46 of 49 shots in an OT win at Trenton. He’s won overtime games with both the Royals and Marlies this season. (4-1 – 3.32 GAA – .901 SV%)

One final note: The Reading saga of Beau Erickson has reached an end. The goaltender, who spent time with the Marlies earlier in the season and was signed to a Royals’ contract for a second time in November, was traded to Utah for future considerations on Dec. 21.

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Barry Schickling can be contacted at Barry.DoubleSMedia@rocketmail.com

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 ECHL.

The Royals Review

(Nov. 30-Dec. 13)

READING, Pa. – For the first time since Reading became the ECHL affiliate of the Maple Leafs beginning with the 2008-09 season, the Royals are on a nice roll and own a five-point lead at the top of the East Division of the American Conference. Reading just concluded a 2-1-1 road trip and managed to increase its lead over the Elmira Jackals, despite the fact that they’ve played only one home game this month and have just three more games scheduled at the Sovereign Center before the end of 2009.

Although the holiday season is nearly here, it’s a critical time as the Royals will play Elmira three times in the next two weeks. In fact, seven of Reading’s next 12 games will be against the Jackals.

Here’s a look at what the Toronto-contracted players have been up to over the past two weeks (with this season’s ECHL statistics).

Stefano Giliati – Although the second-year pro scored just his third goal in the last 16 games, it was an unassisted game winner at Cincinnati on Dec. 13. It came off a neutral-zone turnover. He also assisted on an OT game-winner at Trenton on Dec. 6. The LW is fourth on the team in points. (9G- 11A – +2 – 21 PIM)

Joey Ryan – The Stoneham, Mass. native only had one point in the last two weeks but it was a big one. He notched the OT winner on Dec. 6 at Trenton – the first OT goal for Reading this season. The defenceman was named first star of that game for his efforts. (2G – 3A – -5 – 37 PIM)

Eric Werner – The former University of Michigan star has been a shining star for the Royals blue line this season. Not only has he been arguably the team’s best defenceman this season, he’s tied for the team lead in scoring by D-men. Coach Larry Courville relies on him in every situation and he generally plays with lots of confidence and control. (3G – 4A – +3 – 19 PIM)

Goaltender Beau Erickson, who spent some time with the Marlies earlier in the season, but is under contract to Reading, leads the Royals in GAA and save percentage. In a victory over Trenton on Dec. 5, he made 34 saves and was named the game’s second star. However, he’s not getting lots of playing time since the Boston Bruins (a co-parent of Reading along with the Maple Leafs) assigned Matt Dalton to the team. (3-2 – 2.78 GAA — .915 SV %)

The Royals are still awaiting the return of G Andrew Engelage from the Marlies, but as long as Jonas Gustavsson and James Reimer remain out of the lineups for the Leafs and Marlies, respectively, the Oshawa-born Engelage will continue to wet his professional feet in the American Hockey League

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Barry Schickling can be contacted at Barry.DoubleSMedia@rocketmail.com

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