Royals Sign Forward Travis Broughman, Goaltender Vinnie Purpura for 2024-25 Season

Reading, PA - The Reading Royals, proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, announced that forward Travis Broughman and goaltender Vinnie Purpura have signed with the club for the 2024-25 season. Reading acquired the playing rights to both Broughman and Purpura from the Adirondack Thunder in exchange for the playing rights of forward Tag Bertuzzi on Wednesday, July 31st.

Broughman, 27, registered 27 points (14g-13a), 48 penalty minutes and a -8 rating through 66 regular season games with the Thunder to complete his second full professional season in the 2023-24 campaign. The Richmond, Virginia native added five points (1g-4a), six penalty minutes and a +1 rating during Adirondack's 2024 Kelly Cup Playoff run which concluded in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the eventual Kelly Cup Champion Florida Everblades. In 12 games against the Royals last season, Broughman recorded five points (3g-2a), 14 penalty minutes, +4 rating and 36 shots on goal. In the 2023 preseason, Broughman recorded a hat-trick at Santander Arena on October 12.

"I am super thrilled to be joining the Reading Royals this upcoming season," Broughman stated. "I can't wait for the building to be rocking on October 26th."

"Being against Travis the last two years, it's nice to have him on our side," Head Coach & General Manager Jason Binkley stated. "He brings size, strength, grit and scores a lot of his goals around the net, as well as a lot of important goals. He's going to be physically offensive for us, hard to play against and fit into everything that we need. Hopefully every time we play Adirondack, he's willing to make them regret their decision (to trade him)."

The 6'2", 185-pound, right-shot forward has totaled 60 points (26g-34a), 70 penalty minutes and a -10 rating in 114 ECHL career games, all with Adirondack. Broughman began his professional career in 2021-22 with the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs in the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). He totaled 25 points (10g-15a), six penalty minutes and a +9 rating in 27 SPHL career games.

Prior to his professional career, Broughman was a point-per-game player at SUNY-Oswego in the NCAA Division-3. He recorded 78 points (41g-37a), 49 penalty minutes and a +14 rating in 77 NCAA career games. He was named the program's Team Captain his seniorr yea in 2021-22 where he led the team in points with 28 (13g-15a) in 25 games. That season, Broughman also tied for the team-lead in assists (16) and was named to the SUNYAC All-Conference First Team.

In 2017-18, Broughman played in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) for the Carleton Place Canadians where he totaled 65 points (31g-34a) and 42 penalty minutes in 60 regular season games. He added eight points (4g-4a) in 11 playoff contests and was named to the 2017-18 CCHL All-Star Team. In 2016-17, Broughman played 30 regular season games in the USPHL Elite for the Richmond Generals, along with three games in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) for the Topeka Roadrunners.

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Purpura, 25, appeared in 25 games for the Thunder where he posted a 15-4-4 record, 2.78 goals-against-average, .908 save-percentage and one shutout (16 saves vs. Trois-Rivières on 2/17/24) to complete his first full professional season in the 2023-24 campaign. The Lemont, Illinois native signed a Professional Tryout Contract (PTO) with the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) on November 13, 2023, but did not appear in a game. Purpura made one career start against the Royals on March 23, 2023 where he turned aside 38 of 41 shots faced in a 4-3 overtime win as a member of the Thunder. The start was the third of Purpura's professional career in which he earned his second career win.

"I am super excited to be signing with the Reading Royals," Purpura stated. "I can't wait to get things started in October. I can't wait to see the fans fire and energy come October as well."

"Vinnie brings a lot of size," Head Coach & General Manager Jason Binkley stated. "15-4-4 record last season with Adirondack so great numbers, great size and is a great kid. He understands what his role needs to be as far as waiting for his time, but he knows and I know when his time comes, he's going to be ready. Vinnie has proven himself at this league, he's excited to be on our side of things this season, and is another guy that when he gets the opportunity to play and it's against Adirondack, he's hopefully going to make (Adirondack) regret everything that they did this summer by trading him."

At 6'6", 194-pound, the right-catching netminder hoists a 17-4-4 record with a 2.87 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in 29 professional career appearances. Purpura signed a Standard Player Contract (SPC) to begin his professional career with Adirondack on March 13, 2023 out of Long Island University where he was teammates with current Royals' forward Nolan Welsh.

Purpura posted a 12-34-1 record, 3.38 goals-against-average and .894 save-percentage in 53 NCAA career game appearances between parts of two seasons at Boston University (2018-20) and three seasons at Long Island University (2020-23). Purpura earned LIU's hockey program's first-ever victory against ranked opponent, making 32 saves in 3-2 win vs. No. 12 Ohio State University on Nov. 25, 2022.

He began the 2018-19 season in the United States Hockey League (USHL) between the Omaha Lancers and the Youngstown Phantoms to conclude his junior hockey career. Additionally, Purpura played two seasons in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) for the Johnstown Tomahawks (2016-18).

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Royals 2024-25 roster (13):

Forwards (9): Travis Broughman, Brock Caufield, Dominiks Marcinkevics, Connor McMenamin, Yvan Mongo, Noah Prokop, Shane Sellar, Todd Skirving, Noah Welsh

Defensemen (3): Powell Connor, Kenny Johnson, Tony Malinowski

Goaltender (1): Vinnie Purpura

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2024-25 Season Memberships

Royals365 Season Memberships, six-game plans, ten-game plans, and group tickets are available for the 2024-25 season now by visiting the Royals’ box office at Santander Arena or by calling 610-898-7825.

About the Royals

The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, are heading into their 23rd season in the ECHL. They won their first Kelly Cup championship in 2013 and have clinched playoff berths in 12 of the previous 14 seasons. They are five-time division champions and were the 2021-22 Eastern Conference champion. The Berks County Convention Center Authority (BCCCA), founded in 1996, owns the Royals and oversees operations at Santander Arena.