Reign Notebook, September 16

Insiders!

How about a quick offseason notebook. First off, for those who didn’t know, I’ve been away for the last couple of weeks for my wedding in New York. For those that did, thank you to everyone who reached out, it was much appreciated!

Now, it’s back to business……

Sean Walker Signs Four-Year Extension

Another Reign alum graduates from the AHL, earns time in the NHL and succeeds in the NHL. Now, he earns a four-year extension with the Kings. Congrats to Sean Walker, who I spoke with yesterday and wrote about here.

Walker was electric in the 22 games I watched him play with the Reign during the 2018-19 season, as he collected 17 points in that time and seemed to be a threat to create an odd-man opportunity every time he stepped on the ice. It was nice to start to see him use his skating ability to shine in the NHL as well this past season, as he grew in confidence from a rookie to a second-year player at that level.

Walker becomes the Kings’ second-highest paid defenseman, though relatively speaking his new deal is still a modest rate. His new deal places him in a group with Alex Iafallo and Adrian Kempe, as players who earned a more permanent second contract with the organization following the expiration of their entry-level deals.

Stanton Moves On

Signed to be a veteran presence on the Ontario blueline a season ago, Ryan Stanton will not be back in the same role in 2020-21, though he won’t be far away. Stanton signed an AHL contract earlier this week with the Bakersfield Condors, meaning he will remain in the Pacific Division when the coming season kicks off.

Stanton was the elder statesman on the Ontario blueline in 2019-20, along with Paul LaDue, on a group that otherwise consisted of first and second year professionals. Stanton was an alternate captain for the bulk of the season, and was a steady, defensive-zone first player for Ontario. He now returns to the Condors, this time on an AHL contract, where he spent two seasons from 2017 – 2019.

On a similar note, earlier this summer, Max Gottlieb and Stephen Baylis signed ECHL contracts with South Carolina and Florida respectively. Each was on an AHL contract with Ontario this past season, but spent the bulk of the campaign with ECHL-Fort Wayne.

Reigny Day Podcast

We’ve kept the Reigny Day Podcast rolling throughout the summer, and we’re looking to do a listener mailbag during this week’s edition! We would appreciate any questions submitted via either Twitter (@ReignInsider), in the comments here or via this form, if you prefer to be anonymous. They’ll all do! Looking forward to answering all of them on our upcoming episode.

Recently, we’ve had John Wroblewski, Matt Moulson and Derek Armstrong on as guests with some exciting new guests to come! Listen in to a couple of recent episodes below –

Palm Springs, Coming 2022

The Seattle Kraken posted an announcement earlier today with an update on their AHL-affiliate, which will be placed in Palm Springs.

The currently un-named franchise will become Ontario’s closest geographic rival, when the team begins play. Initially expected to start alongside the Kraken in 2021-22, the team has been delayed by a season, with the organization currently in search of a temporary solution for their inaugural NHL season.

Read the full update HERE.

Gold Together

Lastly, a Reign community initiative throughout September is partnering with the American Cancer Society on a month-long initiative to raise funds and awareness for pediatric cancer awareness month.

Visit ontarioreign.com/goldtogether for more information, or to make a donation to the Reign’s campaign.

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