Sports stats

ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Sign Defensemen Nicholas Bilotto and Nick St. Pierre

September 18, 2009 - 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 signed defensemen Nicholas Bilotto ["bih LOT oh"] and Nick St. Pierre ["SAINT pee AIR"]. Last season, Bilotto (6'2/215) (30), who hails from Point-Claire, Quebec, scored six goals, assisted on sixteen others (twenty-two points) and picked up fifty-two penalty minutes with Alleghe HC of the Italian elite league. St. Pierre (6'0/185) (24), a native of St. Etienne, Quebec, scored four goals and picked up thirteen assists (seventeen points) in thirty-six games with Colgate University. St. Pierre also played ten games for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL after the conclusion of his senior season at Colgate, picking up his first pro point in the process.

Bilotto, who will be entering his tenth pro season, has played a total of 461 regular season pro games with eleven different teams during his career, including forty-three games for five different teams in the AHL. During his career, Bilotto, who was a sixth round pick of the St. Louis Blues in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, has racked up 301 points and 931 penalty minutes. Bilotto played his last four seasons for Alleghe HC in Italy, where he led all defensemen on the team in goals and points in each of those four years. In his last season in North America, 2004-05, Bilotto racked up thirty-four points (8g-26a) and seventy-nine penalty minutes in sixty-six games with the Danbury Trashers of the United Hockey League. That season, Bilotto also played five games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL. Bilotto's most productive season in North America came with the Charlotte Checkers of the ECHL in 2002-03, when he led all defensemen on the team with thirteen goals and forty-three points. In 164 total ECHL games (all but one of which was played with Charlotte), Bilotto has racked up 104 points (28g-76a) and 323 penalty minutes.

St. Pierre, who was selected to the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference's all-rookie team after his first season at Colgate, played a total of 147 games for the Raiders over his four year career, scoring fourteen goals and assisting on forty-eight others (sixty-two points) and racking up 127 pims. St. Pierre, who was thrice selected as the team's best defenseman, was honored with the Rob Ries Memorial Award for team inspiration and leadership after his final season at Colgate. St. Pierre, who served as the Raiders' team captain during his senior year, served in some form of captaincy with the team for three of his four years at Colgate, becoming only the second player in school history to accomplish that feat. St. Pierre, who signed an amateur tryout agreement with Syracuse in mid-March of 2009, ended last season on a positive note, picking up an assist-and his first pro point-with twenty-seven seconds remaining in the final game of the regular season (a 4-2 win for the Crunch over the Rochester Americans).

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.

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics



ECHL Stories from September 18, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Reading Royals Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central