Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, today announced that forward Joe Rehkamp has been returned to Reading from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League. In separate transactions also undertaken earlier today, goaltender Connor Knapp and forward Pavel Padakin were recalled to Lehigh Valley.
Rehkamp, a first year pro from Plymouth, Minnesota, began the season with the Royals and registered ten points (3g-7a) and seventeen penalty minutes in eighteen games with the team prior to being loaned to the Phantoms on November 30, 2015. In forty-one games with Lehigh Valley since that time, Rehkamp picked up three points (1g-2a) and sixteen penalty minutes.
This is the third recall of the year to the Phantoms for Knapp, a fourth year pro from Rochester, New York. Knapp, who was placed on the 21-day injured reserve by the Royals on March 10, 2016, has played in twenty-two games for the Royals, compiling a 10-10-0-1 record with a 2.96 goals against average and a .899 save percentage with two shutouts. Knapp has played one game for the Phantoms (1-0-0-0, 4.62, .828), a 6-5 shootout win over the Hershey Bears on November 27, 2015.
For Padakin, a first year pro from Kiev, Ukraine, this is his third recall from Reading to Lehigh Valley. In twenty-six games with the Royals, he has recorded seventeen points (8g-9a) and six penalty minutes. Padakin has six points (1g-5a) and ten penalty minutes in thirty-one games with the Phantoms.
The Royals return to action on Wednesday (March 23 @ 7:00 pm) when the team will face the Kalamazoo Wings at Santander Arena in Reading. On Wednesday, the Royals will celebrate a ‘Wednesday Night Rivalry Game’ with over 250 t-shirts fired into the crowd to build the frenzy. The game night broadcast for Wednesday’s matchup can be heard live on CBS SportsRadio 1240 am and 98.5 in Reading, Pennsylvania, starting with the pre-game warm-up show presented by Highmark Blue Shield at 6:30 pm Eastern Time. Streaming audio is available free of charge on the Royals’ website; and streaming video is available on a pay-per-view basis through ECHL.TV.
For more information about the Royals, call 610-898-7825 or log onto www.royalshockey.com.
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