ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Sign Defenseman Ryan Crane

Published on July 16, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, today announced that the team has signed defenseman Ryan Crane. Last season, Crane (6'0/205) (29), who hails from Mississauga, Ontario, split the season between the Rodovre Mighty Bulls in Denmark and the Corpus Christi Icerays of the Central Hockey League. In forty-four total regular season games, Crane scored five goals and assisted on sixteen others (twenty-one points) and accumulated forty-six penalty-minutes.

Crane, who is preparing to enter his eighth full season of pro hockey, returned to North America to join the Icerays in mid-January after beginning the season in Denmark, where he sustained an injury after seventeen games. While with the Icerays, Crane picked up fourteen points (5g-9a) in twenty-seven games during Corpus Christi's run to the playoffs. That actually marked Crane's return to North American pro after playing most of 2006-07 and all of 2007-08 in Europe. Crane spent the 2007-08 season with the Edinburgh Capitals of Britain's Elite Ice Hockey League, where he led defensemen on the team (and was third amongst d-men in the league) with fifty points (13g-37a) and 129 penalty minutes in fifty-four regular season games, which earned him the award as the team's Player of the Year. Crane accomplished similar feats during the 2003-04 season with the Trenton (then-)Titans, where he led the team's defenders in scoring and was selected as the team's top d-man. Reading marks the seventh ECHL stop for Crane, who has played a total of 290 pro games in his career, which began when he joined the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies in March of 2002 after the conclusion of his senior season at Western Michigan University. In 110 collegiate games with WMU, Crane scored eleven goals, assisted on forty-one others (fifty-two points), and racked up 139 penalty minutes and was chosen as the school's top defender in his final year with the Broncos.

The Royals open the 2009-10 ECHL season on Thursday, October 15, 2009 (7:05 pm) when the Kalamazoo Wings make their first visit ever to the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. Season tickets for the Royals' 2009-10 season are currently available. To become a part of Royals hockey, call 610-898-PUCK or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

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