Carson Bjarnason Reassigned by Philadelphia to Lehigh Valley from Reading; Yaniv Perets Loaned to Reading by Lehigh Valley
ECHL Reading Royals

Carson Bjarnason Reassigned by Philadelphia to Lehigh Valley from Reading; Yaniv Perets Loaned to Reading by Lehigh Valley

Published on April 6, 2026 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals, proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, announced that goaltender Carson Bjarnason has been reassigned by Philadelphia (NHL) to Lehigh Valley (AHL) from Reading. Additionally, goaltender Yaniv Perets has been loaned to Reading by Lehigh Valley (AHL).

Bjarnason, 20, played in two games for the Royals since his reassignment to Reading on April 1, going 1-1-0-0 with a 3.57 goals-against-average and .881 save-percentage. A native of Carberry, Manitoba, the 6'4", 207-pound, left-catching netminder is 14-12-7 through 32 games in his first professional season which opened with 30 games for Lehigh Valley, registering a 13-11-7 record, 3.45 goals-against-average and .877 save-percentage. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Philadelphia on September 26, 2023, and received his first NHL call-up by the Flyers on February 17th while Flyers' goaltender Dan Vladar was attending the 2026 Olympics for Team Czechia.

Before his pro career, the second round, 51st overall, selection by Philadelphia in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, played four seasons in the Western Hockey League (WHL) for the Brandon Wheat Kings, going 75-61-13 with a 3.14 GAA and .903 SV% across 156 games.

At the international level, Bjarnason made Team Canada's roster for the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (won gold), 2024 World Juniors and 2025 World Juniors tournament with fellow Flyers' draft selections Oliver Bonk, Jett Luchanko and Porter Martone.

He is one of four NHL contracted players to appear in a game for Reading this season (Artem Guryev-PHI, Massimo Rizzo-PHI, Connor Kurth-TB) and the first Flyers' contracted goaltender on Reading's roster since Kirill Ustimenko (2019-20, 2021-22). In Reading's April 2nd game at Worcester, Bjarnason became the youngest player to play in a game for the Royals at 20 years, nine months and three days since Matteo Mann made his pro debut with Reading on April 12, 2024 at 19 years, three months and 12 days.

Perets, 25, has registered a 13-8-3 record, 2.92 goals-against average, .906 save-percentage and three shutouts in 25 starts with the Royals during the 2025-26 season. A recipient of the ECHL's Goaltender of the Week award for Mar. 23-29, the second-time receiving the honor in his three-year pro career, this is the Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec native's ninth loan to Reading by Lehigh Valley this season. which has included two starts for Phantoms including his Phantoms debut following his first recall on Thursday, October 30th, stopping 26 of 29 shots faced in a Lehigh Valley 4-3 overtime win at Hartford on Saturday, November 1st and his second start after his 5th recall on Saturday, January 17th, where he stopped 17 of 20 shots faced in a 4-1 loss to the Syracuse Crunch.

Prior to his first recall, Perets opened his third professional season with Reading, going 1-0-1 in two starts with a 6.28 goals-against average and .814 save-percentage.

Across 86 ECHL career games, the 6'1", 181-pound, left-handed catching netminder has posted a 43-31-7 record, 2.85 GAA, .905 SV% and eight shutouts between Norfolk (2023-24), Bloomington (2024-25) and Reading. In seven AHL career games, four of which with the Chicago Wolves in 2024-25, Perets is 2-4-1 with a 3.64 GAA and .857 SV%. Additionally, Perets has appeared in two NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes, both in relief, stopping seven of eight NHL career shots faced.

Prior to his pro career, Perets was an NCAA Champion with Quinnipiac University in 2023. The two-time ECAC Goaltender of the Year broke the NCAA D-1 Record for goals-against average as a freshman (1.17 GAA).

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