Haines gets pro deal with ECHL's Royals

Ferris State Press Release

Casey Haines, a member of the nationally-ranked 2009-10 Ferris State hockey team, will continue his playing career after recently signing a contact with the Reading Royals of the ECHL.

Haines is scheduled to make his professional debut this upcoming 2010-11 season for the Royals.

Haines, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound forward, placed second among the 2009-10 Bulldog team leaders in scoring with 31 points on a squad second-most tying 12 goals and 19 assists in 40 games. His season points output along with his goals and assists totals all represented career single-season highs. He paced Ferris State with five game-winning goals this season while chalking up six multiple-point game outings and a plus 11 efficiency rating. Haines tallied at least a point in 24 contests for the 2009-10 campaign.

Haines was an integral part this season in helping the Bulldogs post a 21-13-6 overall record and a third-place finish in the CCHA with a 13-9-6-4 mark (49 league points). Ferris State's 21 victories for the 2009-10 campaign represents a tied for the fourth most in the program's history. The Bulldogs also made their first appearance in the CCHA championships this season since the 2002-03 season and wrapped up the campaign with a 13th-place national ranking in U.S. College Hockey Online.com's final poll.

Following this season, Haines was honored as a 2009-10 co-recipient of the Ferris State Athletics Department's Willie Bouyer Leadership Award for their strong inspirational leadership and dedication to fellow FSU student-athletes.

The Ferris State skater concluded his four-year (2006-10) collegiate career by amassing 60 points on 25 goals and 35 assists in 142 contests. He also netted seven career game-winning lamplighters, six power-play goals, and two short-handed markers while notching a plus six efficiency rating.

Reading is an affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League along with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

Photo courtesy Ferris State Athletics