Royals Sign 2x Kelly Cup Champion Skirving for 2024-25 Season

from Reading Royals

The Reading Royals, proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, announced that forward Todd Skirving has signed with the club for the 2024-25 season.

Skirving, 32, joins the Royals for his seventh professional season following six seasons in the ECHL. The Thunder Bay, Ontario native’s six-year pro career includes one game in the American Hockey League for the Toronto Marlies during the 2022-23 season, as well as two Kelly Cup championships between the Newfoundland Growlers (2018-19) and the Florida Everblades (2023-24).

“I am excited to start a new chapter with the Reading Royals organization,” Skirving stated. “Over the past several weeks, it seemed more fitting that Reading would be my next landing spot. I’m eager to build on the foundation set by Coach Binkley, his staff, and the returning players. The goal will be to make the playoffs and chase a second championship for the organization. I am looking forward to catching up with the fans that I have met over the years while meeting some of the fans I haven’t met yet. It’s an exciting time on Penn St., and I look forward to seeing everyone soon.”

“Getting Todd is a big deal for this team and this organization,” Head Coach & General Manager Jason Binkley stated. “Todd had the opportunity to pick anywhere, and he picked to come here. To have a two-time Kelly Cup champion and someone with his experience want to be here in Reading and be a part of this team is something that not only our players but our fans and organization will benefit from. He is going to bring a lot of leadership and experience across his five years in the division, so he knows how to make new players feel welcomed and feel like professionals from the start. What Todd is going to provide off the ice will be just as, if not more important than, what he brings us on the ice.”

Across 301 ECHL career regular season games, the 6’2″, 190-pound, left-shot forward has totaled 149 points (74g-75a), 197 penalty minutes, and a -12 rating during stints with the Orlando Solar Bears, Utah Grizzlies, Atlanta Gladiators (2017-18), Newfoundland (2018-24), and Florida (2023-24). Skirving adds 64 Kelly Cup Playoff career games during five postseason runs between Atlanta (2017-18), Newfoundland (2018-19, 2021-23), and Florida (2023-24), during which he accumulated 18 points (6g-12a), 60 penalty minutes, and a +3 rating.

Skirving signed with Florida on April 6, 2024, after Newfoundland ceased operations on Tuesday, April 2. Prior to joining Florida’s championship team, he played five seasons as a member of the Growlers, where he won a Kelly Cup title in 2019 and served as both an alternate captain during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons and the franchise’s second Team Captain during the 2023-24 season. Additionally, Skirving represented Newfoundland at the 2023 All-Star Classic during the 2022-23 campaign. That season, Skirving set career highs in goals (31), assists (27), points (58), +/- rating (+15), and tied for the team lead in goals (8) during the Growlers’ 2023 Kelly Cup Playoff run.

Prior to his professional career, Skirving played four seasons at the Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T.) in the NCAA (2013-17). With the Tigers, he was a part of three NCAA Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) Championships and registered 51 points (19g-32a), 56 penalty minutes, and a -23 rating across 127 NCAA career games.

Skirving played two seasons in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Sioux Falls Stampede (2011-13), along with a season in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) between the Vernon Vipers and Prince George Spruce Kings (2010-11).

Royals 2024-25 roster:

Forwards (7): Brock Caufield, Connor McMenamin, Yvan Mongo, Noah Prokop, Shane Sellar, Todd Skirving, and Nolan Welsh.

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

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Source: bctv