The Reading Royals, an ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, announced Monday that forward Ben Raymond has been signed to an ECHL contract with the club for the 2025-26 season.

Raymond, 24, is entering his first full professional season after registering a point (an assist) in four games with the Iowa Heartlanders in the spring of the 2024-25 campaign.

A native of Newton, Massachusetts, Raymond signed his first professional contract with Iowa on March 29 after concluding his fourth and final season in the NCAA at Colgate University, registering a career-best nine goals and 18 points, along with 21 penalty minutes in 36 games.

In 130 NCAA career games, Raymond accumulated 43 points (20 goals, 23 assists) and 43 penalty minutes.

“Ben is hard working player who can really skate,” said Anthony Peters, head coach and general manager of the Royals. “He takes pride in outworking the opponent and we will need that from him every night. I look forward to Ben coming into camp and seeing how he can help our group.”

Prior to Colgate, the 5-11 179-pound left-shot forward played one season in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) for the Powell River Kings where he logged 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists) in 19 games.

The Royals play their home opener at Santander Arena on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. against Trois-Rivières. The home opener opens a two-game series with the Lions which concludes on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 3 p.m.

2025-26 Reading Royals roster

Forwards (11): Cam Cook, Liam Devlin, Jacob Frasca, Jordan Frasca, Kyle Haskins, Connor McMenamin, Jeremy Michel, Yvan Mongo, Patrick Moynihan, Ben Raymond, Jordan Simoneau.

Defensemen (7): Matt Araujo, Nick Carabin, Victor Hadfield, Artyom Kulakov, Jack Page, Vincent Sévigny, Robbie Stucker.

Goalie (1): Vinnie Purpura.-

https://www.mcall.com/2025/09/15/minor-league-hockey-reading-royals-rounding-out-2025-26-roster/