ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Invite Jesse Pyatt to Training Camp

September 29, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League and the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League, today announced that the organization has invited forward Jesse Pyatt ("PIE - eht") to training camp. Last season, Pyatt (6'1"/210 lbs) led the nation in scoring in Canadian university hockey with 26 goals and 47 points in 24 games for the University of Guelph. Pyatt, who hails from Thunder Bay, Ontario, was selected as a First Team Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) All-Canadian and a West Division First Team All-Star last year. Chosen as Guelph's Male Athlete of the Year at the conclusion of his senior season, Pyatt, who turned twenty-eight last Monday, continued his torrid pace and stellar play through the summer months as he led the Australian Ice Hockey League with 32 goals in 21 games, while his team, the Newcastle North Stars, won their second consecutive AIHL championship.

Pyatt, who's father, Nelson, played 296 National Hockey League games with the Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals, and Colorado Rockies from 1973 through 1980, was an immediate impact player for Guelph as he was chosen as the team's Rookie of the Year, after a freshman season in which he scored nine goals and assisted on sixteen others in twenty four games. Pyatt continued to put up solid numbers through his sophomore and junior campaigns, but he virtually exploded in his senior year, when he racked up forty-seven points, which tied him for first in the nation with CIS Player of the Year Kevin Baker (Acadia University, 24g - 23a = 47pts), in twenty four games despite playing through constant double- and triple-team coverage.

Chosen as team captain for his senior season, Pyatt's 26 goals that year were just one short of a single-season team record, and placed him fifth in career goals (57) for the Gryphons. A sociology major at Guelph, Pyatt went 'down under' after the conclusion of his final year in college, joining one of the powerhouse teams of Australian pro ice hockey, the Newcastle North Stars. In a season that was capped by the hoisting the Goodall Cup (which is the second oldest trophy-to the Stanley Cup-awarded for a hockey championship), Pyatt was selected as the team's Most Valuable Player, after leading all scorers in the southern hemisphere with 32 goals in just 21 games. The Pyatt's of Thunder Bay are well known for producing off-spring with exceptional hockey talent. Jesse's brother, Taylor, is a former first round pick of the New York Islanders (eighth overall in 1999) and is his entering sixth season in the NHL, having played 308 NHL games with the Islanders and Buffalo Sabres to this point of his career. Jesse's other brother, Tom, was a fourth round pick of the New York Rangers in 2005 and is currently playing for the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League.

Full season tickets and total choice flex plans and individual game tickets for the 2006-07 season of Royals' hockey are currently on sale. For more information, contact the Royals' office at 610-898-7825 or visit the Royals website, www.royalshockey.com.

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