Henry named Royals head coach

Reading, Pa. – The Reading Royals, ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, announced that James Henry has been hired as the team’s head coach and director of hockey operations. 

Henry, who is the eighth coach in the 21-season history of the Royals, joined Reading as an assistant under Kirk MacDonald in August of 2021. During Henry’s tenure as the team’s assistant coach, the Royals compiled a record of 45-17-9 (.633 win percentage), tying the single-season team record for points (99). The team qualified for the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs and advanced to Game 7 of the North Division Finals before falling to Newfoundland. Henry is the all-time leader in points for the Adirondack Thunder with 69 goals and 161 assists in 303 games. He scored 86 more points than second place in the all-time list, Pete MacArthur. He also played 110 games more than Conor Riley, who is second on the all-time games played list. Henry was inducted into the Adirondack Hockey Hall of Fame as a member of the class of 2022 in April.

Across his ECHL career, Henry amassed 309 points (93g-216a) in 441 games with Stockton and Adirondack. Henry was named the fourth captain in Adirondack Thunder history before the 2018 season, and went on to serve in that role for his final two seasons of his playing career. He was awarded the ECHL Community Service Award in 2018-19, recognizing his involvement in many organizations, including Mission 22, a non-profit group fighting veteran suicide.

Henry captained the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League in 2011-12 before playing one season at the University of Manitoba, where he registered 22 points (8g-14a) in 28 games. 

Internationally, the Winnipeg, Manitoba native represented the Western part of Canada in the 2008 World U-17 Hockey Challenge and won the bronze medal.