WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester Railers Hockey Club, ECHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, announced that the club has re-signed veteran forward Bobby Butler to a contract for the 2022-23 season.
Butler, 35, joins the Railers for his first full professional season since his 2018-19 campaign with the Hartford Wolfpack of the American Hockey League. He joined the Railers for the first time on Jan. 2, 2022, in a 5-2 win over Reading in which he had a goal and two assists. Butler went on to play in 20 games during the 2021-22 season, seeing professional competition for the first time since 2019. In this initial stint with the team, Butler recorded 16 points (6g-10a) in his 20 games. Butler played in his 600th professional game last season in a 4-0 loss to Newfoundland on April 2.
The Marlborough, Massachusetts native played for Team USA at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. He played 130 National Hockey League games from 2010-14 with the Ottawa Senators, New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers, accumulating 49 points (20g-29a). He has also spent parts of six seasons in the AHL with the Binghamton Senators, Albany Devils, San Antonio Rampage, Milwaukee Admirals and Harford Wolfpack totaling 231 points (119g-112a) in 357 games. Butler won an AHL Calder Cup championship with the Binghamton Senators in 2011 and is a three-time AHL All-Star (2011, 2013, 2015).
Prior to turning pro, Butler played four seasons at the University of New Hampshire from 2006-10 producing 121 points (61g-60a) in 153 career games. During his senior season in 2009-10, he logged 53 points (29g-24a) leading Hockey East in scoring, was selected as a First Team All-American, and was named a Hobey Baker finalist.