Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, today announced that the team has signed forward Kris Newbury to an ECHL Tryout Agreement. In separate transactions previously completed, the Royals (i) released goaltender Nick Niedert from his ECHL Tryout Agreement; (ii) signed goaltender Nick Niedert to an ECHL Standard Players Contract; and (iii) placed forward Joe Rehkamp on team suspension.
Newbury (5’11/211) (34), who hails from Brampton, Ontario, but currently resides in the central Pennsylvania area, registered twenty-six points (10g-16a) and seventy-nine penalty minutes in forty-four games last season with the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League. He added three points (1g-2a) and seventeen penalty minutes in twelve post-season games with the Reign. Newbury, who will be entering his fourteenth season of pro, has played seventy-six games (4g-6a=10pts, 139 PIMs) in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, and Flyers. A fifth round pick of the San Jose Sharks in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, Newbury has played 774 career AHL games (188g-374a=562pts, 1789 PIMs), during which he has led his team in scoring three times, while also leading his team in penalty minutes on three separate occasions. In fact, Newbury, who served as an alternate captain of the Hartford Wolf Pack / Connecticut Whale for three consecutive seasons, has racked up over 100 PIMs in eleven of his thirteen seasons of pro. Newbury, who has played six career ECHL games (2g-4a), has 578 points (194g-384a) and 1948 PIMs in 856 career pro games. Prior to turning pro, Newbury had an exceptional run in major junior, winning the Ontario Hockey League Championship with the Belleville Bulls in 1998-99 and racking up a team-leading 104 points (42g-62a) and 141 PIMs with the Sarnia Sting in 2001-02. In five seasons of major junior, Newbury registered 306 points (122g-184a) and 621 PIMs in 306 total games in the OHL.
Season Sixteen of “Hometown Hockey” kicks off for the Royals on Saturday, October 15, (7:00 pm) when the Elmira Jackals visit Santander Arena. Season Tickets and individual game tickets for the Royals’ 2016-17 ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com.