From Reading Royals
The Reading Royals, proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, announced that forward Nolan Burke and goaltender Ian Shane have re-signed with the club for the 2026-27 season.
Burke, 23, is entering his fourth professional season following a 51-game campaign with Reading, where he registered 27 points (10g-17a), 23 PIM, and a +3 rating. A native of Peterborough, Ontario, the 6’3″, 200-pound, left-shot forward was a Tryout Invite to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 2025 Training Camp, in which he skated in two of Lehigh Valley’s three preseason games.
“Last season was a blast playing in front of you fans at the Santander,” stated Burke. “I am super excited to build off last season, win some games, and keep getting better as a player and team.”
“Nolan played a large on our team last year,” stated Anthony Peters, Head Coach and General Manager. “It was a huge loss losing him down the stretch and into playoffs. He is a player that many of his teammates want on their line, that says a lot about the player and teammate he is. His game took huge strides last year, and we will rely on him again to do the same. We are really excited to have him back as a Royal.”
Across 154 professional career games, 153 of which came in the ECHL between Atlanta (2023-24), Wichita (2024-25), and Reading (2025-26), Burke has totaled 73 points (28g-45a) and 72 PIM. He made his lone American Hockey League (AHL) game appearance with the Milwaukee Admirals on April 21, 2024, at Grand Rapids.
Burke signed a three-year NHL Entry Level Contract with the Nashville Predators on Nov. 12, 2022, after parts of five seasons in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Sarnia Sting, where he accumulated 154 points (90g-64a) in 177 games. At the time of his NHL signing in 2022, Burke was leading the OHL with 15 goals through 16 games. He finished the 2022-23 campaign with the second most goals in the OHL (50).
Additionally, that season Burke was teammates with the Philadelphia Flyers’ sixth overall selection in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, Porter Martone, at Sarnia.
Shane, 25, is entering his second full professional season following a rookie season split between the Kansas City Mavericks, where he posted a 2-4-1 record, 2.51 GAA, and .892 SV% across eight game appearances and seven starts, and Reading, where he went 1-1-0 with a 2.58 GAA and .928 SV%. In the spring of the 2024-25 season, after signing an Amateur Tryout (ATO) with the Norfolk Admirals, the Manhattan Beach, CA native posted a 3-0-2 record, 2.54 GAA, .913 SV%, and one shutout in five starts.
“I am really excited to be back in Reading,” stated Shane. “I can’t wait to get back to Santander Arena with the best fans in the ECHL.”
A 6’0″, 176-pound, left-handed catching netminder, two of Shane’s first five career starts came against the Royals, where he went 1-0-1 with an overtime loss in his professional debut on April 2, 2025 (30/33 saves) and third professional career win on April 11th (23/26 saves).
Prior to his pro career, Shane played 118 NCAA career games at Cornell University, where he logged a 66-32-16 record, 1.85 GAA, .917 SV%, and 11 shutouts. In his final year with the Big Red, Shane played in 34 games and went 17-11-6 in-goal with a 2.21 GAA, including a win over #1-ranked Michigan State University in the NCAA Toledo Regional semifinals at the Huntington Center, where Shane stopped 34 of 37 shots faced in a 4-3 Cornell win.
Shane started in 17 games as a freshman for Cornell, going 7-6-3 in those games, with a 1.72 GAA. As a junior, in 2023-24, Shane recorded 22 wins in 34 games played with a 1.69 GAA and .923 SV% to earn a nomination for the Hobey Baker Award and honors as the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Goaltender of the Year and First All-Star Team.
Reading Royals 2026-27 roster (18):
Forwards (10): Nolan Burke, Liam Devlin, Jordan Frasca, Kyle Haskins, Connor McMenamin, Jeremy Michel, Austin Saint, Hunter Strand, Blake Wells, and Joe Widmar.
Defensemen (7): Zach Berzolla, Miles Gendron, Artem Kulakov, Austin Mourar, Jack Page, Luke Reid, and Carter Schade.
Goaltender (1): Ian Shane – Keith Petruzzelli (May 21) and Yaniv Perets (June 3) re-signed AHL contracts with Lehigh Valley.
About the Reading Royals
The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, are entering their 25th season in the ECHL. They won their first Kelly Cup championship in 2013 and have clinched playoff berths in 14 of their last 16 seasons. They are five-time division champions and were the 2021-22 Eastern Conference regular-season champion. The Berks County Convention Center Authority (BCCCA), founded in 1996, owns the Royals and oversees operations at Santander Arena.
You Might Also Like
Local Dirt Racing | Strapped In
Local Stock Car Racing | Strapped In
