Phantoms Re-Sign Reading, Pa. Native Steven Swavely

Steven Swavely will be a full-time pro with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms organization in 2016-17. Photo: Nina Weiss/The Home News.

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms have made their first signing of the off-season, adding forward Steven Swavely to a one-year AHL contract earlier this week. It's his first professional hockey contract.

The Reading, Pa native joined the Phantoms on a professional tryout (PTO) at the tail end of their season on March 9th following the completion of his senior season at the University of Maine. In 15 games with the Phantoms this spring, he tallied three goals and played a pivotal role on the team's penalty kill.

Swavely made his pro debut with Lehigh Valley on March 12 at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut against the Hartford WolfPack.

While his ice time was limited in his first few games as the team's fourth line center, Swavely quickly gained the trust of the coaching staff and began to look more comfortable in the AHL with each passing shift. In fact, two of his three goals with the Phantoms this past season came in back-to-back games to conclude the team's regular season.

With Swavely added to the mix for next season, here's a list of those under contract that are expected to be in Lehigh Valley for the 2016-17 season:

Forwards (9): Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Cole Bardreau, Chris Conner, Radel Fazleev, Tyrell Goulbourne, Taylor Leier, Danick Martel, Colin McDonald and Steven Swavely (AHL)

Defensemen (6): Robert Hagg, Christian Marti, Sam Morin, Jesper Pettersson, Travis Sanheim and Reece Willcox

Goaltenders (2): Anthony Stolarz and Alex Lyon

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