The Reading Royals, proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, announced that defenseman Will Zmolek has been reassigned by the Philadelphia Flyers from Lehigh Valley to Reading. Additionally, forward Matt Brown has been loaned to Reading by Lehigh Valley, and forwards Jacques Bouquot and Tyler Gratton have arrived from the Phantoms.
Zmolek, 24, has registered 10 points (3g-7a), 44 penalty minutes, and a -1 rating in 48 games for the Royals this season. The Rochester, Minnesota native recorded two points (2a) and a -1 rating in five games with the Phantoms this season.
The 6’3″, 194-pound, left-shot defenseman is on an NHL contract with Philadelphia after signing a one-year NHL deal on March 8, 2023. He opened his professional career with Lehigh Valley at the end of the 2023-24 season out of Bemidji State University, where he recorded 46 points (9g-37a), 72 penalty minutes, and a +5 rating over 126 NCAA career games. In his senior year with the Beavers, Zmolek was a Hobey Baker Award finalist and led the team in blocked shots (64), along with registering 21 points (4g-17a), 24 penalty minutes, and a -2 rating.
Zmolek joined the Phantoms for three regular season games and one Calder Cup Playoff contest on April 21, 2023, against the Charlotte Checkers. He recorded 0 points and a -2 rating through the four games with Lehigh Valley.
Brown, 24, is in his first professional season and begins his third stint with the Royals in the 2023-24 season. Prior to his previous recall on Feb. 8, Brown led the Royals in points (39) and assists (26). Brown still leads the team in multi-point games (12) and has recorded 13 goals, 12 penalty minutes, and a -4 rating in 36 games with the Royals.
A native of Wood Ridge, New Jersey, under an American Hockey League contract with Lehigh Valley, Brown represented the Royals at the 2024 All-Star Classic in January. He recorded a multi-point game (2a) in his Royals debut on Nov. 3 in Toledo after being loaned to Reading by Lehigh Valley on Oct. 31.
With Lehigh Valley, the Boston University alum recorded two assists, two penalty minutes, and a -2 rating in 12 games for the Phantoms. He tallied an assist in his professional debut with the Phantoms on Oct. 14 against the Cleveland Monsters.
Bouquot, 24, opened his professional career in Reading during the Royals three-game series against the Worcester Railers from Friday, March 22-24. The South Windsor, Connecticut native has recorded four points (1g-3a) and a -3 rating through six games with the Royals. He earned a multi-point game (2a) in his pro debut on March 22 and scored his first professional career goal in his fifth professional career game on April 5 in Norfolk.
Previously, the 6’2″, 190-pound, left-shot forward played five seasons in the NCAA, with his fifth-year graduate season spent at Penn State University, following four seasons at the University of Vermont. University as a fifth-year graduate student. With the Nittany Lions this season, he had a career-high season, scoring 27 points (12g-15a) and totaling 22 penalty minutes, and a -7 rating in 34 games.
Bouquot played for the University of Vermont from 2019-23, where he recorded 50 points (17g-33a) in 109 games played with the Catamounts. Throughout his five-year NCAA career, he accumulated 77 points (29g-48a), 52 penalty minutes, and a -15 rating across 143 NCAA career games. He was team captain for Vermont in 2022-23 before joining Penn State as a graduate student in 2023-24. Bouquot played in the BCHL primarily with the Chilliwack Chiefs before opening his NCAA career.
Gratton, 24, opened his professional career in Reading during the Royals three-game series against the Worcester Railers from Friday, March 22-24. The Pottstown, Pennsylvania native has totaled two points (1g-1a), two penalty minutes, and a -3 rating through five games with the Royals. He earned a multi-point game (1g-1a) in his pro debut on March 22 for two points through his first five games of professional hockey.
Previously, Gratton played five seasons in the NCAA, with the first four years spent at Penn State University before most recently playing at Arizona State University as a fifth-year graduate student. With the Sun Devils this season, the 6’2″, 187-pound, left-shot forward registered 18 points (12g-6a), 18 penalty minutes, and a -7 rating in 36 games. He set career highs in points (18) and goals (12).
Gratton set career highs this season at Arizona State, where he was named team captain while scoring 18 points (12g-6a) in 36 games for the Sun Devils. At Penn State (2019-23), Gratton recorded 34 points (20g-14a) in 123 career games for the Nittany Lions. His NCAA totals 52 points (32g-20a), 92 penalty minutes, and a -21 rating. Additionally, Gratton is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree.
Gratton played his high school hockey with the Owen J. Roberts Wildcats in northern Chester County. Tyler is also the younger brother of Lehigh Valley Phantoms assistant strength coach Chris Gratton, who is in his first season with the team.
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