The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, announced Tuesday that the Flyers assigned forward Matthew Strome and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms assigned defenseman Ryan MacKinnon to the team.
Strome, 22, played 25 games for the Royals in 2019-20. He scored 9 goals and 11 assists (20 points) in 25 games for the club. He spent the 2021-21 season between both the Phantoms and Greenville Swamp Rabbits, scoring 1 goal in 3 AHL games and 3 goals and 4 assists (7 points) in 26 ECHL games.
The Mississauga, ON native was drafted by the Flyers in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft while playing with the Hamilton Bulldogs in the OHL. He scored 115 goals and 132 assists (247) points for Hamilton in 260 games with it. He also captained the team in 2018-19 and won the OHL Championship in 2018.
Strome recorded three points for Team Canada and played with current Flyers prospect Isaac Ratcliffe in the 2017 IIHF U18 World Championship.
MacKinnon, 27, played two full seasons in the ECHL with the Worcester Railers. Across 124 games, he scored 11 goals and 39 assists (50 points). He was contracted by the Bridgeport Islanders from the end of the 2017-18 season until the Phantoms signed him on Sept. 17, 2021. He only played 17 games with the then Bridgeport Sound Tigers in his over two seasons there, as he frequently was loaned to Worcester.
MacKinnon finished second in defensive scoring for the Railers in 2018-19 with 26 points in 68 games, only 4 points behind Mike Cornell.
Before “going pro,” the Summerside, PE native played both junior hockey in the QMJHL, captaining Rimouski Oceanic and the Charlotte Islanders over two years, and college hockey in USports with the University of Prince Edward Island. He was named the to his college conference’s All-Rookie Team in 2016 and to its First All-Star Team in 2018.
Reading Royals season, flex memberships and group tickets are available for the 2021-22 season by visiting the Royals’ box office at Santander Arena or by calling 610-898-7825.
About the Royals
The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, are entering their 20th season in the ECHL. They won their first Kelly Cup championship in 2013 and have clinched playoff berths in 10 of the previous 11 seasons. They are four-time division champions. The Berks County Convention Center Authority (BCCCA), founded in 1996, owns the Royals and oversees operations at Santander Arena.