ECHL Reading Royals

Olivier Labelle Returns to Reading

July 12, 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 forward Olivier Labelle ("OH lihv ee AY lah BELL"). Labelle (6'0/199), who will turn twenty-six years of age on July 15, is entering his sixth season of pro hockey. Last year, Labelle, who hails from St. Eustache, Quebec, scored twenty-one goals, assisted on eleven others (thirty-two points) and registered 105 penalty minutes in thirty-eight regular season games with the Royals. In seven playoff games with Reading, Labelle picked up seven points (2g-5a=7pts) and sixteen penalty minutes. Labelle also played thirty-four regular season games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL, where he scored three goals, assisted on two others (five points) and racked up an additional seventy-four penalty minutes.

Labelle, who kicked off last season by scoring the game winning goal in the Royals' season opening 6-5 win over the Trenton Devils on October 16, 2010, bagged eight goals in his first thirteen games with the Royals, earning his lengthy call-up to Bridgeport. Labelle returned to Reading in mid-February, and in pretty short-order went on another scoring binge that included racking up eight goals (three of which proved to be GWGs) over a span of eleven games (02/13 - 03/09/11). Labelle, who led the Royals in goals per game average (.553) and tied for the team lead with five game winners and eleven power play goals, finished the regular season on a six game point streak (4g-4a). He then proceeded to run off a five game point streak in the playoffs (2g-5a), where he has been particularly effective in his pro career, registering forty points (21g-19a) in forty-seven total post-season games. In the Royals' run to the American Conference Finals in 2010, Labelle tied for the league lead with eleven post-season goals.

In ninety-three regular season games with the Royals over the past two seasons, Labelle has scored a total of forty-four goals, which places him tied for fifth (with Brock Hooton and Ryan Cruthers) on the team's all-time list in that category. In his 325 pro games, Labelle has also racked up a total of 815 penalty minutes. He has been named the team's ‘Scrapper of the Year' for the past two consecutive seasons with Reading, where has registered 267 total penalty minutes (which includes ten fighting majors), placing him fourth on the team's all-time list in that category.

Labelle, who has thirty-nine points (15g-24a) and 251 penalty minutes in 124 career AHL games with four teams, has racked up 156 points (86g-70a) and 564 PIMs in 201 total ECHL 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 Acadie-Bathurst Titan where he exploded for 100 points (50g-50a) and 185 penalty minutes in sixty-seven regular season games.

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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