The Reading Royals, ECHL-affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, ended their season on April 13. With a final record of 29 wins and 35 losses, Reading placed 12th out of 13 in the Eastern Conference field, and 23rd out of 27 in the ECHL overall.
Related: Philadelphia Flyers’ 2023-24 Team Awards
Despite a disappointing finish to the season, a number of Royals players gave fans plenty to cheer for throughout the 2023-24 campaign. A major highlight of the season was Matt Brown’s selection to the All-Star Game, news that was met with much enthusiasm by the fan base. The 24-year-old forward’s outstanding play this season not only placed him on the team leader board for various categories, but it also earned him a call-up to the club’s American Hockey League (AHL)-affiliate the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for 12 games over the course of the season.
A number of other players also had strong performances on the ice this season. This edition of the Flyers Farm Report will highlight those individual performers and their contributions to the team.
Joseph Nardi
Joseph Nardi had a team-leading 50 points for the Royals during the 2023-24 campaign. In his first season in Reading, the forward appeared in 71 games and also led the team in assists with 33. The Edmonton native’s 17 goals were good enough for a second-place finish for the franchise overall in this category. Between March 23 and April 6, the 5-foot-10, 179-pound Nardi recorded points in seven of eight games.
Devon Paliani
Devon Paliani was one of two Royals to appear in all 72 games this season, the other being forward Tyson Fawcett. A second-year member of the franchise, he finished second overall in team total points this season with 43. Twenty-seven of these points came from assists, a category he finished third overall in organization statistics standings. A season highlight came on March 8, when the 27-year-old tallied four assists against the Norfolk Admirals. A tough player on the ice, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound center recorded 105 penalty minutes, placing him in the top five of Reading skaters for this category.
Matt Brown
The sole representative of Reading at the 2024 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic in Savannah, Matt Brown’s 41 total points and 28 assists in 38 games placed him in the top five for both team categories. The left winger has also appeared in 12 games for the Royals’ AHL affiliate, the Phantoms. His most notable stretch of games in the AHL occurred between Feb. 9 and April 2, when he appeared in eight games for Lehigh Valley. The Boston University product and first-year professional has yet to find the same offensive success in the AHL that he has had in the ECHL. The New Jersey native will turn 25 years old this summer.
Yvan Mongo
Yvan Mongo’s offensive contributions this season put him in the top five for team total points, goals scored, and assists. The Gatineau, Quebec native turned professional last season with Reading after starring with the University of Ottawa, where he wore the captain’s “C” for two seasons. The 5-foot-9, 187-pound forward had 38 points (17 goals and 21 assists) in 55 appearances with the Royals. He also had eight multi-point games during the 2023-24 campaign. His offensive totals this season significantly increased from last season, when he recorded 13 points in 40 games. The left winger’s improvement this season was a strong indicator to coaches and front office brass that he has the necessary offensive skills to succeed in professional hockey.
Tag Bertuzzi
Tag Bertuzzi, the son of NHL great Todd, finished the season in the top five for Reading’s three main offensive statistical categories. Despite playing in only 43 games, the center had 34 points (16 goals and 18 assists), placing him on the team leaderboards for total points, goals scored, and assists.
A fan-favorite among the Reading faithful, the British Columbia native also suited up for two teams in the AHL on loan and the Tulsa Oilers of the ECHL. He had four, three-point games for the Royals over the course of the 2023-24 campaign.
Jake Smith
The Royals acquired minor league veteran Jake Smith on Feb. 20, 2024, from the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. The right winger had 12 goals for Greenville before making his debut with Reading on Feb. 23. In 23 appearances for the Royals, the 26-year-old had seven goals. His 19 total ECHL goals this season place him atop the franchise’s leaderboard.
Ryan Chyzowski
In eight of the Royals’ first nine games of the season, forward Ryan Chyzowski recorded at least one point. Even more impressive, was the fact that he had seven multi-point games over the course of 44 appearances this season. In the first two months of the 2023-24 campaign, it appeared that the left winger could have finished the season on one or more of the ECHL’s leaderboards. Sidelined with injuries for much of the latter part of the season, he last appeared in a game on Feb. 10, 2024. In limited appearances, the 23-year-old was a physical presence on the ice, racking up 77 penalty minutes.
Ryan Devine
Blueliner Ryan Devine has been a physically imposing player on the ice since his time in the juniors. A veteran of nine professional hockey seasons that included stops in North America and Slovakia, the defenseman was acquired by Reading on March 13, 2024 in a deal with the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks. The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder had 78 penalty minutes and a plus-8 rating in 43 games with Kansas City. Coupled with his 64 penalty minutes in 11 games with the Royals, the 32-year-old finished the regular season sixth overall for penalty minutes recorded in the ECHL.
Goaltenders
Seven different players appeared in goal for the Royals over the course of the 2023-24 campaign. Nolan Meier was the most regular occupant of the goal crease, having played in 40 games for Reading. The 23-year-old had 15 wins for the season, recording a 3.07 goals-against average (GAA) and a .903 save percentage (SV%). His numbers in goal are even more respectable considering the fact that he faced 1,266 shots against (SA), the fourth most amongst goalies in the ECHL. On Feb. 17, he appeared in his only AHL game of the season with the Lehigh Valley, a losing effort to the Syracuse Crunch (2-1).
In his sixth season of professional hockey, Parker Gahagen appeared in goal 14 times for Reading. The product of the United States Military Academy (West Point) recorded a 2.28 GAA and .936 SV% on his way to 10 ECHL wins. Between Jan. 26 and March 29, he appeared in goal 18 times for the Phantoms posting a 2.59 GAA and .914 SV%.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
With three games remaining in the regular season, Lehigh Valley looks to secure just one point this weekend to stamp the team’s ticket to the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs. The Phantoms recently received much-needed reinforcements for the final regular season push from the Flyers in the form of forwards Bobby Brink and Olle Lycksell and blueliners Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning. The Calder Cup Playoffs are scheduled to kick off next week.
