Royals Sign Forward Olivier Labelle
July 21, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release
Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, today announced that the team has signed forward Olivier Labelle ["la BELL, OH liv EE ay"]. Last season, LaBelle (6'0/190) (24), who hails from St. Eustache, Quebec, scored sixteen goals, assisted on nineteen others (thirty-five points) and picked up 128 penalty minutes in fifty-six regular season games with the Victoria Salmon Kings of the ECHL. Labelle also registered a pair of assists in six games with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL last season.
Labelle, who is preparing to enter his fourth pro season, began last year in Chicago Blackhawks' training camp before reporting to the Moose in the AHL. Labelle was assigned by Manitoba to Victoria to start the 2008-09 season where he promptly scored eight goals in his first eight games with the Salmon Kings and ultimately earned a call-up to Manitoba in late November, where he picked up an assist in each of his first two games with the team. Labelle, who was second amongst the Salmon Kings in penalty minutes (128) and fighting majors (6) last year, was reignited during Victoria's playoff run, where he racked up a goal in each of the team's first three post-season contests-which included scoring the first goal and game winner in Victoria's 2-0 victory in Game Two of the National Conference Quarter-Final match-up against the Idaho Steelheads. Labelle registered seven points (4g-3a) in nine playoff games before Victoria was eliminated by the Alaska Aces in the National Conference Semi-Finals.
Last year's playoff performance by Labelle was consistent with his post-season production as a member of the Utah Grizzlies in 2007-08, when he racked up eleven points (4g-7a) in fifteen playoff games as the Grizzlies advanced all the way to the National Conference Finals before being eliminated by the Las Vegas Wranglers. That season, Labelle attended New York Islanders' training camp and began the year with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he scored a goal in a total of eight regular season games. Labelle played the majority of the 2007-08 season in Utah, where he established career highs by scoring twenty-six goals and picking up twenty-two assists (forty-eight points) in fifty-two regular season games, which placed him fourth in scoring on the team. Labelle also led the Grizzlies with 169 penalty minutes, which included nine fighting majors (third most on the team). Labelle began his pro career in 2006-07 with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch, where he scored eleven goals, picked up twenty-assists (thirty-one points) and was second on the team with 153 penalty minutes (and nine fighting majors) in seventy-four regular season games. Prior to turning pro, Labelle played 273 regular season games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he was a member of back-to-back championship teams with the Hull (and later Gatineau) Olympiques in 2003 and 2004. Labelle finished out his QMJHL career in 2005-06 with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan where he exploded for 100 points (50g-50a) and 185 penalty minutes in sixty-seven regular season games.
The Royals open the 2009-10 ECHL season on Thursday, October 15, 2009 (7:05 pm) when the Kalamazoo Wings make their first visit ever to the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. Season tickets for the Royals' 2009-10 season are currently available. To become a part of Royals hockey, call 610-898-PUCK or log onto www.royalshockey.com.
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ECHL Stories from July 21, 2009
- Reign Adds Three Forwards to Roster - Ontario Reign
- Head coach becomes first-time father - Idaho Steelheads
- Royals Sign Forward Olivier Labelle - Reading Royals
- Ohio Lottery presents Education In Hockey Day Game with the Cincinnati Cyclones - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Everblades Sign Centerman Breault - Florida Everblades
- Grizzlies Re-Sign Maxwell, Thauwald - Utah Grizzlies
- Ryan Garlock Signs with AHL Hartford - Johnstown Chiefs
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