Drake Made AHL Season Debut Last Night
February 16, 2020
Lehigh Valley, Pa. – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms, proud AHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, have announced today they have loaned forward Steven Swavely and defensemen David Drake and Eric Knodel to the Reading Royals of the ECHL.
Swavely, 28, has played in 14 games for the Phantoms this season after making his AHL season-debut on November 23. He has tallied one goal and two assists this year after scoring on February 9 against the Hershey Bears just hours after being recalled. He has also played in 29 games for the Royals this season, totaling eight goals and 18 assists for 26 points and a +9 rating.
A native of Reading, Pa., Swavely is in his fourth full season with the organization and played in a career-high 40 games for the Phantoms last season, tallying seven assists. He posted a career best, three-assist game on December 22, 2018, in a 6-1 victory in Hershey that helped him earn a one-year, AHL contract that he signed on January 2, 2019.
Swavely turned pro after four years at the University of Maine. He has totaled 124 points on 53 goals and 71 assists in 134 games for the Reading Royals. Swavely has played 107 total games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during parts of the last four seasons.
Drake, 25, was signed to an AHL deal by Lehigh Valley on September 18, 2019 and made his AHL season debut for the Phantoms last night against the Hartford Wolf Pack. He has appeared in 41 games for the Reading Royals this season, tallying a goal and five assists and 20 penalty minutes. He played 64 games last season for the Reading Royals in his first full professional season and registered one goal and seven assists to go along with 48 penalty minutes. He appeared in one game for Lehigh Valley in 2018-19, playing in the season opener on October 6.
A native of Naperville, Illinois, Drake played seven games for the Phantoms at the end of the 2017-18 season and tallied an assist in his professional debut on March 31, 2018 against Belleville. He turned pro after a successful four-year career playing college hockey at the University of Connecticut. Drake posted 25 points on 4 goals and 21 assists in 124 games and served as the Alternate Captain during his junior and senior year at UConn.
The 6-foot-6 defenseman was drafted in the seventh round (#192) of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers.
Knodel, 29, signed an AHL contract with Lehigh Valley on July 1, 2019 and appeared in eight games for the Phantoms after being recalled from the ECHL on January 11, 2020. Knodel registered three assists with Lehigh Valley, including a two-assist game January 15 against the Binghamton Devils. He has played 33 games for the Reading Royals this season and has tallied six goals and 26 assists for 32 points, which leads all Reading defensemen. The 6-foot-6 defenseman also leads the Royals with a +25 rating on the season.
A native of West Chester, Pennsylvania, Knodel spent last season in the ECHL with the Cincinnati Cyclones. He posted 53 points (17G, 36A) in 70 games and was a +38 rating and was named 2018-19 ECHL Defenseman of the Year. Prior to this season, Knodel had played 39 games in the AHL over four seasons, spending time with the Toronto Marlies, San Diego Gulls, and Rochester Americans. He was drafted in the fifth round (#128) of the 2009 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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