As they assemble their roster ahead of the 2025-26season, the Reading Royals [https://thehockeynews.com/echl/latest-news/royals-name-former-everblades-assistant-as-new-head-coach-and-gm]announced Thursday that forward Connor McMenamin has re-signed for the upcoming season. The 26-year-old McMenamin is entering his second-full professional season after a 17 point (7-10-17) showing in a 29-game shortened rookie campaign due to a season-ending injury on Jan. 11. A native of Collegeville, Pennsylvania, McMenamin played 10 games for Reading during the 2023-24 season after he inked a Standard Player Contract (SPC) with the Royals to begin his professional career on March 22, 2024. McMenamin is looking forward to getting things back on track for himself and the team next season. "I am excited to be coming back to Reading next season," stated McMenamin. "We have a big year ahead of us and can’t wait to see all the fans on Nov. 8 at Santander Arena.” Prior to going pro, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound left-shot forward played five seasons in the NCAA [https://thehockeynews.com/ncaa/], with four seasons spent at Penn State University and a fifth-year graduate season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. With the Bulldogs during the 2023-24 season, McMenamin recorded 21 points (6-15-21), 12 penalty minutes and a -9 rating in 35 games. From 2019-23 at Penn State, he recorded 66 points (24-42-66) in 129 games played with the Nittany Lions. Across his five-year NCAA career, McMenamin totaled 87 points (30-57-87), 57 penalty minutes and a +10 rating across 164 career games. Additionally, McMenamin was an alternate captain for Penn State in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns. He previously played in the United States Hockey League [https://thehockeynews.com/ushl/], primarily with the Tri-City Storm, where he was Team Captain in the 2018-19 season. At Tri-City, McMenamin played alongside former Philadelphia Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers]defenseman Ronnie Attard and former Lehigh Valley Phantoms forward Brendan Furry. McMenamin finished fourth on the team in points (44) and second on the team in goals (26) behind Attard, who posted a team-high 30 goals. "We’re very happy to have Connor signed for this upcoming season,” Anthony Peters, Royals Head Coach & General Manager, stated. "He is a high character kid that has worked hard to get himself ready to play. He is a big part of what we are going to build moving forward.” (Photo Courtesy of the Reading Royals)
