The Reading Royals, the ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, clinched a Kelly Cup Playoffs berth on Friday night after a 6-2 victory over the Trois-Rivières Lions at Santander Arena.
Reading clinches a postseason berth with 7 games still remaining on their schedule, and they currently sit 9 points behind the Newfoundland Growlers for the top spot in the North Division.
This is the second consecutive season the Royals have qualified for the playoffs and the sixth time they’ve made it since being affiliated with the Flyers.
The Royals bowed out in 7 games to Newfoundland last season in the Division Finals after being up 3-1 in the series. The Royals had previously defeated the Comcast Spectacor-owned Maine Mariners in 6 games in the Division Semifinals.
Reading is still in search of their first Kelly Cup championship since 2013, when they were affiliated with the Washington Capitals. They have not even advanced to the Conference Finals since that fateful season, and they have only made it that far 3 times in franchise history, but they will look to make a deep run this year.
The Royals have seemingly not skipped a beat in James Henry’s first season as head coach of the team. Henry was as assistant on longtime coach Kirk McDonald’s staff last season in Reading before taking over the top job, and the club has performed admirably this year with the new coach.
Charlie Gerard leads the team with 70 points (31g, 39a), and he is the first Royal to record at least 70 points in a season since Chris McCarthy racked up 74 in 2018-19. Gerard and Max Newton (30) are Reading’s second duo of 30+ goal scorers in as many seasons after Trevor Gooch (34) and Thomas Ebbing (31) accomplished the feat last year.
This is also the first time since 2016-17 that the Royals have featured 5 different scorers of 20 or more goals on their roster. Alongside Gerard and Newton are rookie Jacob Gaucher (22), Alec Butcher (20), and Bristol, Pennsylvania native Evan Barratt (20).
The Royals are also one of just three teams in the league (Idaho, Cincinnati) to contain multiple defensemen with at least 40 points. Flyers 2019 4th-round draft pick Mason Millman (43) and Reading captain Garrett McFadden (41) rank 8th and tied for 9th in defensive scoring in the ECHL.
In net, Nolan Maier has appeared in the most games for Reading with 24 and has played decently in his first professional season, going 12-8-3 with an .892 SV% and 2.89 GAA, but the heart and soul of the Reading crease has been veteran Pat Nagle.
Nagle possesses an outstanding 18-5-0 record in 23 appearances to accompany his .916 SV%, 2.47 GAA, and 1 shutout. The 2022 Olympian has performed admirably this season and ranks 10th in wins, 8th in SV%, and 5th in GAA among ECHL netminders.
While the Flyers may not be playoff bound, their minor league affiliates will give fans something to watch and cheer about this spring. The Royals will have a legitimate chance at winning the Kelly Cup, and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms are in the middle of a playoff push in the AHL, currently grasping the final Calder Cup Playoffs berth in the Atlantic Division by 3 points over the Hartford Wolf Pack with 9 games remaining in the regular season.
