ECHL: Who Are The Reading Royals’ Top Five Players Since Their Inaugural Season?

The Reading Royals have been a part of the ECHL since 2001, and in that time, they have had a series of players who impacted the team like nobody else. Here we look at the top five players that played their hearts out in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Over the years, the Royals have seen a lot of talent come in and out of the city of Reading, but there are five players who have held their place in the top five. Those five players consist of five forwards who put in the work in their time as a lion and made a difference in the history of the team.

At number five is forward Ben Gordon. Gordon made his first appearance for the Royals in the 2008-09 season after starting his season with the Cincinnati Cyclones. This was his first professional season out of the University of Minnesota, and though he spent most of his first season with the Cyclones, he spent 12 games with the Royals racking in a total of 18 points totaled from six goals and twelve assists. Gordon would then go on to spend another 112 games with the Royals in the following two seasons, earning a total of 47 goals and 79 assists. He ended his career with the Royals with a grand total of 144 points, including those he acquired during his two playoff appearances with the team in both of those 56 game seasons.

Coming in at number four for the Royals is forward Chris McCarthy. McCarthy made his first appearance with the Royals in the 2016-17 season after spending his first few professional seasons in the AHL. He started the 2016-17 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms before coming down to play 43 games, with the Royals earning 47 points spread across 19 goals and 28 assists. The following season, McCarthy started once again with the Phantoms before coming down to play 66 games scoring 22 goals and 37 assists. The Royals got to have McCarthy for 72 total games in the 2018-19 season, where he scored 20 goals and 54 assists before spending the rest of his career with the Hershey Bears. Including the post-season appearances with the Royals, McCarthy earned a total of 180 points in his 181 games.

At number three is fan favorite and rafter-flying legend Yannick Tifu. Tifu spent some time all across the league before finding himself a spot on the Royals’ roster. He was given the “C” in his first season with the team, which many Royals fans would say was well deserved. Tifu’s first season with the Royals was the 2011-12 season, where he started with the Chicago Express before coming to Reading. In his first season, he played in a total of 52 games earning 59 points, which was split from 20 goals and 39 assists. However, it was the following season that Tifu paved his way into the Royals’ history. Not only did he rack in 27 goals and 45 assists in the regular season, but he took his team all the way to the Kelly Cup Finals, where the Royals won their first-ever Kelly Cup against the Stockton Thunder. Tifu would then go on to play in two more seasons with the Royals before he would move on to the LNAH, where he currently resides. In his time with the Royals, including all of his playoff appearances, Tifu wracked in a total of 222 points that earned him the number three spot in the Royals’ top five.

Sitting at number two on the list is recent Wall of Fame honoree Olivier Labelle. Labelle came to the Royals in the 2009-10 season after spending some time in the AHL sporting an “A” on his jersey and earning 41 points in that first season across 23 goals and 18 assists. Among all of the players in Royals’ history, Labelle holds the record for the most games played with the team at a staggering 298 across six seasons. He spent the entirety of the 2014-15 season with the Royals earning 71 points that came from 30 goals and 41 assists. It comes with a heavy understanding of why Labelle not only is a Wall of Fame honoree but one of the Royals’ most iconic and well-loved players among fans. In all of his time with the team, he earned a total of 257 points and a lifelong fanbase.

And finally, in the number one spot on the Royals’ top five list is forward Ryan Cruthers. Cruthers spent time in the other teams of the ECHL, AHL, and CHL after attending Robert Morris University before coming to Reading. He came to Reading in the 2009-10 season after spending the first part of the season with the Texas Brahmas and Norfolk Admirals. During that season, he pulled in 71 total points that came from 22 goals and 49 assists. In the following season, Cruthers sported the “C” on his jersey for 51 games until moving to three different AHL teams later that year. In the 2011-12 season, he made his return back to the Royals, playing in 48 games before moving on to the Alaska Aces for the remainder of the season. Cruthers would then miss the following season, where he played for the Orlando Solar Bears as their captain before returning back to Reading for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, where he would finish out his career. Cruthers is the Royals’ all-time points leader, with a total of 273 points that he obtained from his 278 games with the team. Though Labelle leads the team in goals with 128, Cruthers leads in assists with a total of 187.

Though these are the statistical leaders for the Reading Royals, who do you think are worthy contenders to add to this list?