Transition is the key word for Royals rookies

Reading’s newcomers, no matter how successful they have been in the past, are adjusting to life at the next level at the team’s training camp.

By Julie Pelchar Reading Eagle

Six months ago, Simon Mangos and Tom Galvin were standouts on their college hockey teams.
So was Lukas Dora, who won an NCAA championship with Denver.
Meanwhile, Ryan Kinasewich and Barry Brust were finishing successful careers in the Western Hockey League.
This week they’re all newcomers learning the ropes in Reading’s training camp. The Royals completed their third day of practice Wednesday at the Sovereign Center.
   "There’s an adjustment period since you go from being a big fish in a small pond to a small fish in a big pond," said Mangos, a defenseman from Ferris State. "But it will gradually get better as the year goes on."
   Adjusting means learning to play against players who are older, bigger, faster and smarter.
   "The speed and the way everyone thinks about the game is different," Kinasewich said. "The guys are a lot bigger and stronger, and they work hard. They’re a lot smarter up here and position themselves better."
   Kinasewich, a highly touted forward who attended the Dallas Stars’ NHL rookie camp and then San Antonio’s AHL camp, knows a prime spot in Reading’s lineup isn’t guaranteed.
   But Royals coach Derek Clancey doesn’t expect players such as Kinasewich, Mangos and Galvin to struggle with the transition.
   "I think they’re all doing pretty well," he said. "Kinasewich is coming in here with a lot of expectations after his junior career, and Mangos and Galvin are coming out of pretty good college programs.
   "So all three are guys that we expect to be able to jump in and contribute right away. I don’t expect much of a learning curve from those three."
   The veterans are helping the newcomers — 13 of the 25 in camp are rookies — feel comfortable in what is figuring to be a competitive camp. The Royals expect to add several more players before opening the season Oct. 22, which will make cuts necessary.
   "Hopefully, these rookies aren’t really pressing too hard because that will do them a disservice," said Royal returnee Graig Mischler. "There are some veterans that are pressing right now, too. You have to learn to take it one day at a time and do the best that you can."
   Sound check: The two-person camera crew on hand at the Sovereign Center Wednesday wasn’t taping for a Royals reality show.
   Still, the footage they got will be used to show fans what a typical day at training camp is like.
   Defenseman Ian Turner, who celebrated his 23 rd birthday Wednesday, wore a microphone clipped to his jersey as the Royals drilled and practiced their systems.
   Comcast will use the video and Turner’s audio clips for a package that will run on "Royals Roundtable," the team’s TV show that airs in November.
   In the room: A new face will be sharpening the Royals’ skates, mending their jerseys and tending to many of their other needs.
   Equipment manager Russ Holden, who replaces Pat Noecker, joins Reading from Lafayette, La., where he held the same position last year for the ECHL’s Louisiana IceGators.
   This season is Holden’s fifth in the ECHL. The native of Castor, Alberta, spent three years with Royals coach Derek Clancey in Jackson, Miss., after a seven-year career in the Western Hockey League.
   Loose pucks: Defenseman Martin Wilde has signed a player tryout agreement. He skated Wednesday, joining newcomers Barry Brust, Jeff Miles, Dan Sullivan and Paul Cabana. . . . Defenseman Frederic Belanger, who left Tuesday’s practice with a knee injury, didn’t skate Wednesday. Forward Eric Fortier has yet to skate because he hasn’t passed a physical. . . . This morning’s practice runs from 9-11 at the Sovereign Center and is open to the public.
   Contact Julie Pelchar at 610-371-5065 or japelchar@readingeagle.com.