Royals Agree to Terms with Defenseman Bryant Molle

Royals’ Unsung Hero Has Won a Championship in Both of His Pro Seasons

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Washington Capitals of the NHL and Hershey Bears of the AHL, today announced that the organization has agreed to terms with defenseman Bryant Molle . Molle (6’3/221) (25), who will be entering his third season of pro, is the third player announced as signed for the Royals for the 2013-14 season, joining forwards Ethan Cox and Yannick Tifu. Last season, Molle, who hails from Anchorage, Alaska, played seventy-six games for the Royals, including all twenty-two it took for the Royals to capture the Kelly Cup. For Molle, it was his second championship in as many seasons as a pro. In 2011-12, he was a member of the Fort Wayne Komets, who won the Central Hockey League’s President Cup. In fifty-four regular season games for the Royals last season, Molle recorded nine assists and 93 penalty minutes, which included eight fighting majors. Unfortunately, he injured his hand in one of those tilts—on January 18, 2013 with Andrew Conboy then of the Cincinnati Cyclones—causing Molle to miss a full month of action. Nonetheless, he returned to line-up on February 21 and ended up playing to plus-18 (+18), which led all active players on the Royals’ roster at the conclusion of the regular season. For his efforts, Molle was chosen at the team’s ‘Unsung Hero’ at the season-ending Fans’ Choice Awards Banquet. In the post-season, Molle continued his critical, if somewhat understated, strong defensive-oriented performance, playing to a plus-5 (+5) in playoffs. His lone point in the post-season came when he assisted on the first goal of the game (by Ethan Cox)—and played to a plus-3 (+3)—in Game One of the Kelly Cup Finals against the Stockton Thunder. In his rookie year, 2011-12, Molle scored a goal and assisted on five others (six points), registered 144 penalty minutes, and played to a plus-23 (+23) in sixty regular season games with Fort Wayne then of the Central Hockey League. Molle added five points (1g-4a) and six penalty minutes in sixteen playoff games in helping the Komets capture the CHL’s Ray Miron President’s Cup Championship. In 116 career pro regular season games, Molle has fifteen points (1g-14a) and 244 PIMs. Prior to turning pro, Molle played collegiately at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. In his senior season, Molle, who served as an alternate captain for the Nanooks, received the team’s Most Dedicated Player and Unsung Hero awards and was a finalist in the nationwide Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award presented by the Hockey Commissioners Association annually at the NCAA’s Frozen Four Tournament. At the conclusion of his senior year, Molle was also named as the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year, as well as a Lowe’s Second Team All-Senior All-American. Season Tickets for the 2013-14 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com.