September 13, 2011

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with forward Rob Shearer [“SHEER er”].

The Royals have now announced eighteen players as signed for the 2011-12 season—eleven forwards (Phil Aucoin, Bryan Brutlag, Ryan Cruthers, Joe Cucci, Casey Haines, Olivier Labelle, Chad Painchaud, Richard Purslow, John Scrymgeour, Everett Sheen and Shearer) and seven defensemen (Dave Cowan, Rob Kwiet, Derrick LaPoint, Louis Liotti, Chris Nutini, David Strathman, and Denny Urban).

Last season, Shearer (5’10/193) (34), who hails from Kitchener, Ontario, scored fifteen goals and added twenty assists (thirty-five points) and sixteen penalty minutes in forty-two games for the EHC Black Wings Linz in the Austrian Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. Shearer, who will be entering his sixteenth season of pro, has played the last ten years of his career in elite European leagues, including the past six with the Linz EHC, who won the Austrian league playoff championship in 2010. Shearer, who established a team record when he registered forty-six assists and seventy-two points for Linz in 2006-07, has been fourth or better on his team in scoring in ten of his fifteen pro seasons. He has also been a member of three different championship teams, including (in Shearer’s rookie year) the 1997 Bob Hartley-led Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears of the AHL. Shearer, who spent his first five seasons of pro with the Bears, was selected as Hershey’s Most Improved Player in 1997-98; and, in his final year in Hershey, 2000-01, he earned a two-game call-up to the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL. In 888 regular season pro games, Shearer has racked up 720 points (276g-444a) and 712 penalty minutes. He’s also registered eighty-eight points (31g-57a) in 150 career playoff games. Prior to turning pro, Shearer played three seasons with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League where he recorded 191 points (85g-106a) in 188 games, which included a ninety-three point (40g-53a) season in his final year of major junior.

The Royals face the Cincinnati Cyclones in the team’s 2011-12 ECHL home opener on Saturday, October 22, 2011 (7:05 pm). Royals’ season tickets are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com. Is your club, group, or organization looking for fun and entertaining speakers for an upcoming event? Contact the Royals’ Speakers Bureau to book a team representative for your next outing. More information on the Royals Speakers Bureau is available by contacting Mark Thompson at 484-400-3565 or mthompson@royalshockey.com.