McFadden Added, Nagle to Reading, Ustimenko to Phantoms
March 11, 2022
Lehigh Valley, PA – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have announced the following transactions:
- Goalie Pat Nagle has been loaned to the Reading Royals of the ECHL
- Goalie Kirill Ustimenko has been reassigned to the Phantoms from Reading by the Philadelphia Flyers. This transaction happened earlier in the week.
- Defenseman Garrett McFadden has been recalled by the Phantoms from Reading
Nagle, 34, recently returned to the Phantoms from his opportunity with the USA Olympics team that competed in Beijing, China in February. With the Phantoms this season, Nagle has gone 7-3-3, 2.67, .899. He has also played 12 games with Reading this year going 7-2-3, 2.58, .927. Nagle is the active career wins leader in the ECHL with 198 victories which also places him sixth all-time.
Ustimenko, 23, was a last-minute addition to the Phantoms ahead of their Tuesday night game at Hershey. He was brought in from Reading when Nagle had an illness shortly before the game. Ustimenko has gone 1-3-2, 2.39, .917 in his seven games with the Phantoms this season while also playing in 19 games with Reading going 9-6-3, 2.67, .916. Ustimenko also received his first NHL recall this season where he served as a backup goalie to Martin Jones but did not receive the opportunity to play.
McFadden, 24, signed a contract with the Phantoms in January and was loaned to the Reading Royals where has played in 24 games scoring 3-9-12. He played two seasons with Acadia University in Canada in 2018-19 and 2019-20 but his school did not play in 2020-21 due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Guelph Storm product was previously teammates with Isaac Ratcliffe for three years in the OHL. McFadden is in his professional rookie season but in 2017-18 he did play in four games with the Laval Rocket following the conclusion of his Overage season with Guelph.
The Phantoms return to PPL Center tonight at 7:05 to take on the Laval Rocket, AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. The Phantoms are back at home on Saturday against the Hartford Wolf Pack, affiliate of the New York Rangers.
