Pair of blue liners Cockerill and Drake return for purple and orange

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals announced Saturday defensemen David Drake and Garret Cockerill have signed with Reading on ECHL contracts for the 2020-21 season. Both have played each of the last two seasons with Reading and each are coming off career seasons in points; Cockerill was second among team blue liners with a career-high 29 points (6g) and Drake posted 14 (1g).The Royals’ 20th anniversary season is currently slated to begin Dec. 4 with group, flex and season tickets available by visiting royalshockey.com/tickets or by calling 610-898-7825.Coach QuotesHead Coach Kirk MacDonald: "Garret was one of the best ECHL-contracted defensemen in our league last season and is another player that knows our system well and will be trusted to play big minutes. He's capable of shutting down top forward lines and can put the puck in the net as a versatile, two-way presence."We are also thrilled David has chosen to re-sign with us for his third season in Reading. We saw some great signs of progression last season, particularly how Draker uses his size and stick length to stop opponents’ offense. We're hoping he can take that next leap forward again in 2020-21." 2020-21 RosterGoaltender (1): #40 Luke PeressiniDefensemen (6): #3 Rob Michel, #4 Aaron Titcomb, #6 Garrett Cecere, #8 David Drake, #19 Garret Cockerill, #58 Dominic CormierForwards (8): #9 Brayden Low, #16 Hayden Hodgson, #21 Frank DiChiara, #27 Luke Stork, #39 Brendan van Riemsdyk, #74 Luke Voltin, #81 Corey Mackin, Mitchell VanderlaanExtras

Cockerill is preparing for his 4th professional season and has compiled 15 goals, 73 points and a plus-seven rating in 182 games. He skated for Cleveland (AHL) over parts of two seasons (2017-19) and received Calder Cup Playoff experience in 2019, posting an assist in six games as the Monsters qualified for the second round of the playoffs. The 6-foot, 210-lb. native of Brighton, MI is a right-handed shot and played at Northeastern from 2014-17.Drake was selected by Philadelphia in the seventh round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft (210 over.), stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 194 pounds. He turned professional after four seasons at UConn (2014-18) and has 22 points (2g) and 74 penalty minutes in 118 ECHL games. Drake has played nine AHL games with Lehigh Valley since completing his senior NCAA season.