Royals Sign Defenseman Matt Campanale

Chester Springs, PA Native and Defenseman of the Year for Elmira in 2011-12 Joins Reading

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, today announced that the organization has agreed to terms with defenseman Matt Campanale . In a separate player personnel development, forward Nikita Kashirsky, who had signed an ECHL contract with the Royals, has informed the team that he intends to play in England this season.

With the addition of Campanale, the Royals now have eleven players announced as signed for the 2013-14 season. The others are: Julien Cayer (f), Ethan Cox (f), David Marshall (f), Bryant Molle (d), Ian O’Connor (f), Ryan Santana (f), Bobby Shea (d), Yannick Tifu (f), Brad Walch (d), and Marc Zanette (f).

Campanale (5’11/201) (25), a third year pro who hails from Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, began last season with the Elmira Jackals, recording eleven points (1g-10a) and twelve penalty minutes in forty games before being traded to the Las Vegas Wranglers on January 31, 2013, for forward Matt Carter and defenseman Cameron Cooper. Campanale completed the regular season in Las Vegas, where he added three goals and five assists (eight points) in twenty-eight games. In playoffs, Campanale scored two goals and assisted on four others for the Wranglers in an epic seven game battle against the Stockton Thunder, who knocked Las Vegas out of the playoffs in the first round.

In his first full season of pro, 2011-12, Campanale began the year with the Bakersfield Condors, but was traded to Elmira after eight games. While with the Jackals, he racked up twenty-two points (6g-16a) in fifty-eight games and earned the team’s co-Defenseman of the Year Award. Campanale, who was often paired with former NHL-veteran Craig Rivet, played to a team-best plus-fourteen in his time with Elmira, who captured the Atlantic Division regular season title. In playoffs, Campanale and his Jackal teammates defeated the Royals in the first-round Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals, which went the five-game distance, before being knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by the eventual 2012 Kelly Cup Champion Florida Everblades.

Campanale began his pro career after the completion of his senior season at the University of New Hampshire in April of 2011, when he joined the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL. After playing two games in Bridgeport, Campanale was signed to an Amateur Tryout Agreement by the New York Islanders of the NHL on April 6, 2011, and logged 8:21 of ice-time in his NHL debut, a 3-2 loss for the Islanders to the Boston Bruins at TD Bank Garden in Boston. Campanale was then returned to Bridgeport, where he played a total of five games.

Prior to starting his pro career, Campanale played four seasons at the University of New Hampshire, where he originally walked on as a freshman, proceeded to earn a scholarship in short order, and ultimately was named a team captain in his senior season for the school, which earned an NCAA tournament berth in all four seasons of Campanale’s eligibility. In his senior year at UNH, 2010-11, Campanale played to team-leading plus-25 (+25), and was second on the team with forty-eight blocked shots. In 106 total college games, Campanale recorded twenty-four points (3g-21a) and thirty-two penalty minutes.

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.