Reign: Chavira released, Jackson activated.

Itan Chavira became a repeat victim of diminishing roster space today, when the Southern California native was released by the Reign for the second time this season.

Chavira became expendable when speedy forward Todd Jackson was activated from injured reserve prior to tonight’s game against the Idaho Steelheads in Boise. Chavira, a 5-foot-9 right wing, missed all of February with a lower-body injury, then was a healthy scratch in six of nine games since his return.

In 16 games for the Reign this season, Chavira had two goals and four assists, all of which came during an eight-game span in January.

Raised in Covina, the 21-year-old made the opening-day roster as a longshot out of the team’s open tryouts, having played mostly roller hockey all his life. After appearing in one game during the season’s first month, Chavira was released in November and briefly returned to roller hockey with a French professional team.

He rejoined an injury-depleted Reign squad in December and proceeded to play his best hockey of the year before suffering a lower-body injury on Jan. 30. Chavira remained a fan favorite after his return, but never quite regained his place on the power play following the addition of Bud Holloway and the emergence of Dale Reinhardt, a versatile but small forward with a similar skill set to Chavira’s.

In other Reign news, forward Ryan MacGregor was placed on 3-day injured reserve, and forward Chris Curran was moved from 3-day IR to 7-day IR.

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About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.