Reading Royals Sign Defensemen Victor Hadfield and Jordan Simoneau for 2025-26 Season

From Reading Royals

The Reading Royals, proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, announced that defensemen Victor Hadfield and Jordan Simoneau have been signed to ECHL contracts with the club for the 2025-26 season.

Hadfield, 24, is entering his fifth full professional season after an 11-game 2024-25 campaign with the Indy Fuel, where he registered three points (3a), 10 penalty minutes, and a -3 rating. A native of Oakville, Ontario, Hadfield has logged 34 points (9g-25a), 80 penalty minutes, and a -2 rating across 126 professional career games between the American Hockey League and ECHL.

“Super excited to be a part of the organization this season,” stated Hadfield. “I can’t wait to play in front of our amazing fans.”

“We are happy to make Victor a Royal,” stated Anthony Peters, Head Coach & General Manager. “He skates extremely well, which is something we are looking for in all of our defence. He has some familiarity with some of our players already, which will help with our team and culture early on.”

The 6’0″, 179-pound, left-shot defenseman opened his professional career with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL, where he skated in his four AHL career games. In the ECHL, Hadfield has totaled his 34 pro career points (9g-25a) between South Carolina (2021-22), Jacksonville (2021-24), and Indy (2023-25). He has suited up for eight Kelly Cup Playoff career games, notching one point between 2022 and 2023 playoff runs with Jacksonville, as well as a postseason stint with Indy in 2024.

Prior to his professional career, Hadfield registered 26 points (8g, 18a) in 46 games during his final season with the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) Barrie Colts in 2019-20. Hadfield is the grandson of former NHL standout Vic Hadfield, who amassed 712 career points in 1002 NHL games split between the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Simoneau, 26, is entering his second professional season following a 42-game rookie campaign with the Evansville Thunderbolts of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), where he totaled 12 points (5g-7a), 103 penalty minutes, and a -10 rating. A 2025 President’s Cup champion with Evansville, the Tisdale, Saskatchewan native played in five games during the title run. Additionally, he skated in seven games with Evansville during the 2023-24 campaign following three seasons at Marian University in the NCAA D-III.

“Really excited to get the season started,” stated Simoneau. “I have Nov. 8 circled on my calendar. I am excited to see all the fans at Santander Arena.”

“Jordan is a player that continually keeps getting better every year,” stated Peters. “He has a large presence and the ability to wear teams down. Our fans are going to appreciate the way he plays.”

At Marian University, the 6’5″, 229-pound, left-shot defenseman accumulated 42 points (23g-19a), 169 penalty minutes, and a -10 rating across 71 NCAA D-III career games. In 2022-23, Simoneau was the NCAA D-III’s overall most penalized player with 76 PIMS.

Additionally, Simoneau played for the Langenburg Warriors in the Sask East Hockey League for one season (2020-21) after three seasons with the Nipawin Hawks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), where he totaled 93 points (45g-48a) and 369 PIMS (2017-20).

Reading Royals 2025-26 roster:

Forwards (8): Cam Cook, Jacob Frasca, Jordan Frasca, Kyle Haskins, Connor McMenamin, Jeremy Michel, Yvan Mongo, and Patrick Moynihan.

Defensemen (7): Nick Carabin, Victor Hadfield, Artyom Kulakov, Jack Page, Vincent Sévigny, Jordan Simoneau, and Robbie Stucker.

Goalie (1): Vinnie Purpura.

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Source: bctv