Royals Sign Former Royal, Collegeville, PA Native Chris McCarthy to SPC
ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Sign Former Royal, Collegeville, PA Native Chris McCarthy to SPC

Published on January 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 that forward Chris McCarthy has been signed to a Standard Player Contract (SPC).

McCarthy, 34, suited up as a Royal for three-consecutive seasons (2016-19) with 141 regular season games played (11th most among forwards in franchise history) McCarthy holds the club's fourth-highest all-time record in goals (61), assists (119) and points (180).

The 6'1" forward was an above-point-per-game skater in both his first and final seasons in Berks County, recording 47 points (19g-28a) across 42 games in 2016-17, and a single-season career high 74 points (20g-54a) across 72 regular season games in 2018-19. For his efforts, McCarthy was selected to the ECHL's Second All-Star Team in 2018-19. McCarthy's second season with the Royals in 2017-18 featured a single-season career-high 22 goals in 66 regular season games.

Aiding the Royals to Kelly Cup Playoffs berths in his first two of three seasons, McCarthy collected five points (5a) in a six-game series loss to Brampton in the 2017 Kelly Cup Playoffs and tallied two goals and a postseason team-high six points in the Royals' four-game 2018 Kelly Cup Playoff series against Manchester. He totaled 11 points (2g-9a) in 10 Kelly Cup Playoff career games as a Royal.

Prior to making his Royals debut on October 15, 2016, when he spearheaded a Reading 6-2 victory over Elmira with a goal and two assists, McCarthy spent two seasons under an NHL entry level contract with the New York Rangers where he skated in 67 games for New York's American Hockey League affiliate, the Hartford Wolfpack. In addition to Hartford, McCarthy skated for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (2016-18) and Hershey Bears (2018-20) in the AHL. In the ECHL, McCarthy played one season (2014-15) as a member of the Greenville Road Warriors and three seasons in Reading, before concluding his playing career with the South Carolina Stingrays in 2019-20.

In total, McCarthy logged 257 points (86g-171a) in 245 regular season games across parts of seven seasons at the pro level. He added 11 points (2g-9a) in 10 Kelly Cup Playoff career games, all as a Royal.

Since retiring as a player following the 2019-20 season, McCarthy has given back to the game as a hockey skills coach for professional, collegiate and youth level players at Elite Edge in which he is a co-owner and founder. He has also been a volunteer youth hockey skills coach for the Valley Forge Colonials and Minutemen since 2018.

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