Buddy Smith Named ECHL MVP
April 5, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release
PRINCETON, N.J. The East Coast Hockey League announced on Friday that Buddy Smith of the Arkansas RiverBlades has been named the 2002-03 Sher-Wood/ECHL Most Valuable Player as determined in a vote of ECHL coaches.
Named to the All-ECHL First Team, Smith led the ECHL with 74 assists and 104 points. It is the highest point and assists totals since 1999-2000 when John Spoltore of Louisiana led the ECHL with 92 assists and 119 points.
The 27-year-old Smith, who becomes the first player in team history to earn First-Team All-ECHL honors and the first to score 100 points, scored a career-high 30 goals while also setting career bests for assists and points. In his fourth season in the ECHL and his first full season with Arkansas, Smith was named as a starter for the Southern Conference in the 2003 Compuware/ECHL All-Star Game.
ECHL Most Valuable Player Award Winners 2002-03 Buddy Smith, Arkansas RiverBlades 2001-02 Frederic Cloutier, Louisiana IceGators 2000-01 Scott King, Charlotte Checkers 1999-00 Andrew Williamson, Toledo Storm 1998-99 Chris Valicevic, Louisiana IceGators 1997-98 Jamey Hicks, Birmingham Bulls 1996-97 Mike Ross, South Carolina Stingrays 1995-96 Hugo Belanger, Nashville Knights 1994-95 Vadim Slivchenko, Wheeling Thunderbirds 1993-94 Joe Flanagan, Birmingham Bulls 1992-93 Trevor Jobe, Nashville Knights 1991-92 Phil Berger, Greensboro Monarchs 1990-91 Stan Drulia, Knoxville Cherokees 1989-90 Bill McDougall, Erie Panthers 1988-89 Daryl Harpe, Erie Panthers
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