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ECHL Reading Royals

Defenseman Rob Kwiet Returns to Reading

August 10, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with defenseman Rob Kwiet ("KWIT"). Last season, Kwiet (6'1/211) (23), who hails from Toronto, Ontario, was the second leading scoring defenseman for the Royals with thirty points (8g-22a) and thirty-nine penalty minutes in fifty-six regular season games. Kwiet, who also earned a one-game call-up to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL, registered four points (1g-3a) in four playoff games with Reading last year.

Kwiet is the eleventh player announced as signed by the Royals for the 2011-12 season-six forwards (Phil Aucoin, Ryan Cruthers, Casey Haines, Olivier Labelle, John Scrymgeour and Everett Sheen) and five defensemen (Bryan Brutlag, Dave Cowan, Chris Nutini, Denny Urban, and Kwiet).

Kwiet, who is entering his third full season as a pro, set career offensive highs last year, including his eight goals, which tied for the team lead amongst defensemen in that category. Five of Kwiet's goals (and nine of his twenty-two assists) came while the Royals were playing with the man advantage. On December 15, 2010 against the Cincinnati Cyclones, he tallied his first goal of the season while the Royals were on the power play mid-way into the second period to tie things at one in a game the team went on to win, 2-1. Kwiet, who's played forty-two career games in the AHL, earned his call-up last year to Bridgeport after a 5-2 win for the Royals over the Elmira Jackals on February 20, in which Kwiet assisted on two goals, one of which proved to be the game winner. After returning to Reading, Kwiet hit his scoring stride in March when he racked up four multi-point performances in a stretch of nine games, generating a total of ten points (3g-7a)-eight of which came in a span of just four games. In playoffs, Kwiet closed out the season on a scoring streak as well, registering a point or better (1g-3a) in the last three games of the year against the Kalamazoo Wings in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

This will mark the third season that Kwiet has played in Reading. In 2009-10, he split the year between the Royals and the Providence Bruins of the AHL, where he scored a goal and picked up twenty-four penalty minutes in forty-one games. During four different stints in Reading that year, Kwiet registered seven assists and thirteen penalty minutes in seventeen regular season games. Kwiet also played fifteen playoff games with the Royals in 2010, scoring two goals and picking up three assists (five points). He led the team that year by playing to a plus-9 (+9) during playoffs. Kwiet is a proven post-season performer. His nine points (3g-6a) in nineteen career post-season games with Reading is second only to Jared Ross amongst defensemen on the team's all-time playoff scoring list. His career plus-10 (+10) in the post-season is second only to Dean Arsene on the all-time team list in that category.

Prior to turning pro, Kwiet was an integral member of the 2008-09 Windsor Spitfires, who not only won the Ontario Hockey League regular season and playoff championships, but also took home the most coveted trophy in major junior, the Memorial Cup. That season, Kwiet scored twelve goals and assisted on fifty-five others in sixty-six regular season games-second best amongst defenseman on the team-while playing to a team best plus-54 (+54). In 250 career regular season games over four seasons in major junior, Kwiet registered 145 points (29g-116a) and 310 penalty minutes.

Season Tickets for the 2011-12 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com . Is your club, group, or organization looking for fun and entertaining speakers for an upcoming event' Contact the Royals' Speakers Bureau to book a team representative for your next outing. More information on the Royals Speakers Bureau is available by contacting Mark Thompson at 484-400-3565 or mthompson@royalshockey.com.

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