The Reading Royals announced on Wednesday, September 30th, that they have come to terms with returning defenseman Mike Crocock. He is the seventh defenseman and the 17th player overall signed by the Royals for the upcoming season. The newly signed defenseman joins an already impressive blue line where all but one player are returning from last season.
The 26 year old Brantford, ON native weighs 185 pounds and stands at five-foot-ten. The 2020-21 season looks to be Crocock’s first full campaign with the Royals, as he originally signed with the team back in December of 2019. In his Reading debut, the left-handed defenseman recorded two assists before the season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Before going pro, Mike Crocock played NCAA hockey for Sacred Heart University between 2015 and 2019 where he skated in 130 games. He was named team captain for both of his final two seasons. The blue liner made his professional debut skating in a total of 14 games for the Birmingham Bulls of the SPHL. His SPHL career was split evenly between the end of the 2018-19 season and the start of the 2019-20 season. He was named alternate captain for the Bulls at the start of the 2019-20 season, but played just seven games as such before signing with the Newfoundland Growlers of the ECHL.
Crocock played just seven games with the Growlers before being claimed on waivers by the Reading Royals on December 17th, 2019. In regards to the defenseman’s re-signing with the club, Kirk MacDonald, Head Coach of the Reading Royals said, “Mike embraced his role in our system after coming in midway through the year and showed the type of commitment and improvement that made him a reliable player on our blue line. He will be another steady presence that can skate well and move the puck quickly.”