Royals Announce 2026 Protected List
ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Announce 2026 Protected List

Published on June 9, 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 the team's 2026 Protected List. Reading has retained the rights to 29 players. Of the 29 players, 23 appeared in at least one game for the Royals during the 2025-26 season. Royals365 season memberships, group and flex tickets are now available for the team's 25th anniversary season by calling 610-898-7825 and visiting royalshockey.com.

Forwards (18): Nolan Burke, Alec Butcher, Cameron Cook, Nick Deakin-Poot, Liam Devlin, Jordan Frasca, Jacob Frasca, Kyle Haskins, Connor McMenamin, Jeremy Michel, Yvan Mongo, Joeseph Nardi, Mikael Robidoux, Brandon Saigeon, Austin Saint, Shane Sellar, Jake Smith, Ty Voit

Defensemen (10): Davis Bunz, Robert Calisti, Miles Gendron, Victor Hadfield, Artem Kulakov, Jack Page, Vincent Sevigny, Kyle Walker, Connor Walters, Jake Willets

Goaltender (1): Ian Shane

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Teams are allowed to protect as many players as they wish provided the players protected meet the guidelines as defined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players' Association which state that teams shall retain the rights to each player that:

1. Signed an SPC in 2025-26 with the Member, and has not been traded or released, OR

2. Signed an SPC in 2025-26, and was recalled to the NHL/AHL or IIHF team, and has not been traded or released, OR

3. Had received a Qualifying Offer last summer for the current Season, DID NOT sign an SPC, and has not been traded or released, OR

4. Has been suspended by the Member or League, and has not been traded or released, OR

5. Signed an SPC on or after the first day of the 2025-26 Regular Season, then subsequently signed an NHL/AHL contract, and has not been traded or released, OR

6. Has executed the ECHL Retirement Form, and has not been traded or released.

Protected lists may exceed 20 players.

The ECHL also announced that teams must complete all Future Consideration trades by 3 p.m. ET on June 20 and that teams must submit their Season-Ending Roster by 3 p.m. ET on June 22.

Season-ending rosters may include up to 20 players and cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract in 2025-26.

Home Opener:

The Royals player their home opener at Santander Arena on Saturday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m. against Kalamazoo. The home opener opens a two-game series with the Wings which concludes on Sunday, October 25 at 3:00 p.m. The Royals hoist a record of 9-11-1-3 in home openers with their last home opener victory coming against the Norfolk Admirals, 6-4, on October 23 of the 2021-22 season.

Fans can secure their seat for Opening Night today with a Royals ticket plan. The Royals offer plans ranging from as low as 4 games all the way up to our full season Royals365 Membership.

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics

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ECHL Stories from June 9, 2026


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