ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Coach Derek Clancey Promoted to AHL Affiliate Manchester

Published on August 8, 2005 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals, affiliate of the NHL's Los Angeles Kings and AHL's Manchester Monarchs, have announced that Head Coach Derek Clancey has accepted an assistant coaching position with the Manchester Monarchs. Coach Clancey will remain in Reading to fulfill his duties as Director of Player Personnel until a replacement has been named.

Clancey, 36, finished his second season with the Royals in 2004-05. The St. John's, Newfoundland native guided the club to their second straight Kelly Cup Playoff appearance. Last season's squad finished the regular season with the best record in team history (43-22-7) claiming the regular-season North Division title. The Royals were eliminated from the playoffs by eventual Kelly Cup Champion Trenton in the North Division Finals (three games to one).

In 2003-04, the Royals made their first post-season appearance in their three-year history. Reading came within one goal of reaching the Kelly Cup Finals falling to Florida three games to two in the Eastern Conference Finals.

"It was a tough decision to leave Reading where the fans and community have been so supportive of me," said Clancey, the six-year professional coach. "I am glad I could give such a great hockey community a team that they could be proud of and support during the Kelly Cup Playoffs."

Clancey leaves the Royals as the winningest coach in club history. In his two seasons in Reading, he set a record for wins in back-to-back seasons (2003-04 (37) and 2004-05 (43)). He posted consecutive 25-win seasons at home in the Sovereign Center. The Royals 18 road wins in 2004-05 was also a club high. Clancey set new Royals coaching highs in the following categories: games (144), wins (80), losses (47), ties (17), winning percentage (.615), playoff games (23), playoff wins (13), playoff losses (10) and playoff winning percentage (.565).

"To have Derek move up in the Kings organization is a testament to his performance with the Royals and the Kings' dedication to promoting talented players and coaches from within its farm system," commented Royals general manager Gordon Kaye. "While Derek has done a great job for us, we are confident that we will be able to find a qualified replacement shortly."

Prior to joining Reading, Clancey spent four seasons with the ECHL's Jackson Bandits. He posted a record of 143-111-32. The winningest coach in Bandits history, Clancey led Jackson to the playoffs three out of four seasons.

Prior to his coaching career, Clancey enjoyed an eight-year professional playing career. The majority of his career was spent in the former East Coast Hockey League. He played on five ECHL teams, including: Winston-Salem, Toledo, Erie (1991-92), Columbus (Reading) (1993-97) and Chesapeake (1997-99). Ironically, the majority of Clancey's playing career took place with the Reading Royals when the club was located in Columbus, Ohio (Columbus Chill). Upon retiring in 1998, Clancey was the all-time assist leader (367) and seventh on the all-time scoring list (524 pts.) in the ECHL. He still ranks as the all-time leader in assists and points for the Reading Royals (formerly Columbus Chill).

The new physical address for the Royals offices is: 645 Penn Street, 3rd Floor, Reading, PA 19601.

The Royals 5th Anniversary Season faces off October 29 against Kelly Cup Champion Trenton. The Royals will raise the North Division regular season champion banner prior to the drop of the puck. For ticket information including; season, half-season and quarter-season ticket packages visit the Royals website at www.royalshockey.com or call the Royals Hockey Headquarters at 610-898-PUCK (7825).

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics

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