Reading, PA - The Reading Royals, proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, announced the following transactions Tuesday:

• Jackson Edward, D reassigned by Philadelphia (NHL) from Lehigh Valley (AHL) to Reading
• Owen McLaughlin, F loaned to Reading by Lehigh Valley (AHL)
• Ben Meehan, D loaned to Reading by Lehigh Valley (AHL)
• Yaniv Perets, G loaned to Reading by Lehigh Valley (AHL)
• Keith Petruzzelli, G loaned to Reading by Lehigh Valley (AHL) 
• Kyle Walker, D released from Professional Tryout (PTO) with Calgary (AHL) and returned to Reading
• Nick Deakin-Poot, F signed to a Standard Player Contract (SPC)

Edward, 22, has registered 11 points (1g-10a) in 37 games between the Providence Bruins (9gp: 0-0-0) and Lehigh Valley (7gp: 1-3-4) in the AHL, as well as the Maine Mariners (21gp: 0-7-7) in the ECHL during the 2025-26 season. Across 75 professional career games between the AHL and ECHL, the Newmarket, Ontario native has totaled 20 points (3g-17a) and 81 PIM, with nine points (1g-8a) and 45 PIM logged in 28 ECHL career games, all with Maine. He was traded from Boston to Philadelphia and reassigned to Lehigh Valley on March 6 as part of the deal which consequently sent former Royals forward Massimo Rizzo to Boston.

Selected in the seventh round, 200th overall, in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft by Boston, the 6'2", 201-pound, left-shot blue-liner signed a three-year NHL entry-level contract with Boston on Oct. 23, 2023 before attending the Bruins 2023 Rookie Camp and Prospects Challenge, where he scored a goal and collected four penalty minutes. In 2025, Edward skated in the Bruins 2025 Rookie Camp, Prospects Challenge, where he scored a goal in a 6-4 win over New Jersey, and NHL Training Camp.

Prior to his professional career opening with Providence in 2024-25, Edward played four seasons for the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) where he accumulated 61 points (12g-49a) across 178 games and won an OHL Championship in 2023-24 alongside Denver Barkey, Oliver Bonk and Sawyer Boulton.

Edward is one of five NHL contracted players to appear in a game for Reading this season (Artem Guryev-PHI, Massimo Rizzo-PHI, Connor Kurth-TB, Carson Bjarnason-PHI).

McLaughlin, 23, has registered eight points (3g-5a) in 13 games with the Royals to open his professional career. A seventh round selection, 206th overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, the Phoenixville, Pennsylvania native signed his first professional career contract with Lehigh Valley for the remainder of the 2025-26 season and for the 2026-27 season on March 18th following a four-year collegiate career between the University of North Dakota (2022-25) and Boston University (2025-26) where he totaled 101 points (25g-76a) in 148 NCAA career games. In his senior and lone season at Boston, the 6'0", 174-pound, left-shot forward registered the team's fourth-most assists (12) and tied for the fifth-most points (17) in 34 games with the Terriers in 2025-26.

Meehan, 25, has recorded a team-high 34 assists and 46 points to go along with a blue-line leading 12 goals through 69 games with Reading this season. A fifth round, 140th overall, selection by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the Walpole, Massachusetts native has played five games for Lehigh Valley on the 2025-26 campaign, his first-full professional season. This is Meehan's fourth loan to Reading by Lehigh Valley after previously being recalled on October 28, March 2 and April 12. Meehan was first loaned to Reading on Oct. 15 and scored his first pro goal for his first pro point in an overtime win over Greensboro on October 25th. He signed an AHL deal with the Phantoms on July 23, 2025 following a two-game stint with the Iowa Wild of the AHL in the spring of the 2024-25 season after concluding a five-season NCAA career at UMASS-Lowell.

Perets, 25, has registered a 14-8-4 record, 2.84 goals-against average, .910 save-percentage and three shutouts in 27 starts with the Royals during the 2025-26 season. A recipient of the ECHL's Goaltender of the Week award twice over the previous four weeks for Mar. 23-29 and Apr. 6-12, two of three times receiving the honor in his three-year pro career, this is the Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec native's tenth loan to Reading by Lehigh Valley this season. With Lehigh Valley, Perets has gone 2-3-0 with four starts including his Phantoms debut following his first recall on October 30th, stopping 26 of 29 shots faced in a Lehigh Valley 4-3 overtime win at Hartford on November 1st and his second start after his 5th recall on Saturday, January 17th, where he stopped 17 of 20 shots faced in a 4-1 loss to the Syracuse Crunch. His third and fourth start with Lehigh Valley came in his previous recall where he earned a 39-save shutout against Charlotte, the ninth shutout of his professional career on April 18 before stopping 23 of 27 shots faced in a 4-1 loss to Charlotte on April 19.

Petruzzelli, 27, has registered a 17-16-6 record, 2.59 goals-against average, .912 save-percentage and four shutouts in 39 starts with the Royals during the 2025-26 season. A recipient of the ECHL's Goaltender of the Month award for October, the third of his three times receiving the honor in his five-year pro career, this is the Wilbraham, Massachusetts native's second loan to Reading by Lehigh Valley this season. A third round, 88th overall, selection by Detroit in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Petruzzelli has appeared in 103 career ECHL games with Reading and Newfoundland, posting an overall record of 51-41-11 with nine shutouts, a 2.71 goals-against average and a save percentage of .909. Additionally, he is 25-20-4 in 53 career AHL outings with Lehigh Valley and Toronto with a 3.17 goals-against average and a save percentage of .893. Prior to turning pro, Petruzzelli played four seasons at Quinnipiac University, where he appeared in 94 career games with an overall record of 51-27-8 with 10 shutouts, a 2.17 goals-against average and a save percentage of .915.

Walker, 25, signed a Professional Tryout with Calgary (AHL) on April 3rd where he skated in three games after he signed his first professional contract with Reading on March 26th and made his pro debut with Reading on March 27th. The Leduc, Alberta native has played three games with Reading, registering two penalty minutes, a +2 rating and five shots on goal, following a five-year collegiate career at Mount Royal University in USports (2021-25) where he totaled 77 points (16g-61a) and 172 penalty minutes in 128 USports career games. In his 2025-26 senior season with the Cougars, the 6'3", 203-pound, left-shot blue-liner registered the team's sixth-most assists (15) and second-most points among defensemen (19) in 28 games. Named Captain at Mount Royal University in 2024-25, Walker's 28 PIMs in 2025-26 led all defensemen and tied for third-most on the team.

Deakin-Poot, 27, joins the Royals in his second professional season with eight points (1g-7a) and 40 penalty minutes across 37 games with the Fort Wayne Komets (ECHL) on the 2025-26 season. A native of Georgetown, Ontario, the 6'5", 223-pound, left-shot forward has totaled 29 points (6g-23a) and 119 PIM in 101 ECHL career games, all with Fort Wayne. Prior to beginning his professional career with the Komets in 2024-25, Deakin-Poot played four seasons in USports at Acadia University where he amassed 31 points (14g-17a) and 66 PIM in 72 games. He also served as an alternate captain for the club in the 2023-24 campaign.

For all home games this season, fans can enjoy parking as low as $5 (see garage locations & rates).

For tickets to all 2026 Kelly Cup Playoff home games, Click here to see all tickets on Ticketmaster

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2026-27 Season Memberships

Royals365 Season Memberships, select game plans, and group tickets are available for the 2026-27 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 in their 24th season in the ECHL. They won their first Kelly Cup championship in 2013 and have clinched playoff berths in 13 of their latest 15 seasons. They are five-time division champions and were the 2021-22 Eastern Conference regular season champion. The Berks County Convention Center Authority (BCCCA), founded in 1996, owns the Royals and oversees operations at Santander Arena.