Royals Acquire Goaltender Drew Fielding from Toledo

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, today announced that the team has acquired goaltender Drew Fielding in a trade with the Toledo Walleye for future considerations. In a separate transaction, goaltender Martin Ouellette was recalled to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League.

This season, Fielding (6’0/188) a second year pro from Burlington, Ontario, has played three games with the Pensacola Ice Pilots of the Southern Professional Hockey League, compiling an 0-2-1 record with a 3.09 goals against average, and a .902 save percentage. Last season, he began the year with a bang recording a shutout in his first pro game for the Adirondack Thunder, making all thirty-two saves he was called upon against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on November 29, 2015. He followed that up with a thirty-save shutout in his third game for the Thunder against the Manchester Monarchs on December 13.

After defeating the Royals (3-2 at Glenns Falls Civic Center) in early January, Fielding was released by the Thunder but claimed off waivers by the Brampton Beast (of the ECHL) where he played six games, going 1-1-2 with a 3.18 GAA and .888 save percentage. In mid-February he was re-acquired by Adirondack, where he remained through the completion of the regular season and into playoffs, playing nineteen regular season games down the stretch—including two against Reading (a 5-4 shootout win for the Royals on February 27, 2016; and a 3-1 win for Adirondack on February 28). Overall, Fielding went 11-11-2 (2.68 GAA / .914 save %) in 25 total regular season games with the Thunder. He also appeared for Adirondack in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the South Carolina Stingrays, allowing one goal in the third period after coming on in substitution of Ken Appleby in a 6-0 win for the Stingrays.

Prior to turning pro, Fielding had an outstanding collegiate career at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota where he was selected to the MIAC All-Conference team three times. In his senior season, Fielding swept a series of prestigious awards, which included being selected as the Player of the Year in both the MIAC and D-III NCAA Men’s Hockey, as well as receiving the Sid Watson Award, which is given to the top player in NCAA D-III. In 87 career college games with the Tommies, Fielding compiled a record of 52-22-8 with a 1.66 goals against average and a .933 save percentage with nineteen shutouts.