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Former Ice Dog Halak Named To AHL All-Rookie Team

Published on April 12, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The American Hockey League announced that former Long Beach goaltender Jaroslav Halak has been named to the AHL All-Rookie Team for 2006-07.

Selected in the ninth round (271st overall) by Montreal in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, the 5-foot-11 and 174-pound Halak was 11-4-2 with two shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.05 and a save percentage of .932 in 20 games with Long Beach as a rookie in 2005-06. He also played for Hamilton as a rookie and was 7-6-0 with three shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.29 and a save percentage of .927.

Before being recalled to the National Hockey League by Montreal, the 21-year-old was 16-11-0 in 28 games for Hamilton and he continues to lead the AHL with a goals-against average of 2.00 and is second with a save percentage of .932. In his first NHL stint, he is 10-6-0 with two shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.89 and a save percentage of .906 in 16 games for the Canadiens.

The Premier 'AA' Hockey League, the ECHL has affiliations with 24 of the 27 teams in the AHL, marking the sixth consecutive year that the ECHL has had affiliations with more than 20 teams in the AHL, and for the past 16 years there has been a former ECHL player on the team that has won the Calder Cup.

The AHL Coach of the Year has been won six times by former ECHL coaches including 2006-07 when former Atlantic City and Trenton coach and current Norfolk Admirals coach Mike Haviland receive the honor. The AHL Coach of the Year award was won by ECHL coaches four years in a row from 2001-04 with Claude Noel (2004), Geoff Ward (2003), Bruce Cassidy (2002) and Don Granato (2001). The first former ECHL coach to win the award was former Wheeling and current Carolina Hurricanes head coach Peter Laviolette in 1999.

For each of the past four seasons, the ECHL has had more players called up to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with 1,646 call ups involving almost 1,000 players, including 2005-06 when there were 416 call ups involving 263 players.

In addition to Haviland there are nine other former ECHL coaches who are head coaches in the AHL - Dave Allison of Iowa, David Baseggio of Peoria, Bruce Boudreau of Hershey, Scott Gordon of Providence, Greg Ireland of Grand Rapids, Kurt Kleinendorst of Lowell, Claude Noel of Milwaukee, Kjell Samuelsson of Philadelphia and Roy Sommer of Worcester.

There are 11 assistant coaches in the AHL with ECHL experience - Scott Allen of Omaha, Dan Bylsma of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Jack Capuano of Bridgeport, David Cunniff of Worcester, J.J. Daigneault of Hartford, Kevin Dean of Lowell, Ted Dent of Norfolk, Gord Dineen of San Antonio, Joe Ferras of Bridgeport, Matt Shaw of Houston and Bob Woods of Hershey - while Scott White is director of hockey operations for Iowa.

Thirteen times this season the winner of the CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week award has been an ECHL player with former Roanoke and Wheeling and current Manitoba left wing Jason Jaffray (Oct. 30), former Wheeling and Idaho and current Portland center Zenon Konopka (Nov. 13), Former Alaska and Las Vegas and current Peoria left wing Charles Linglet (Dec. 4), former Jackson and current Chicago center Cory Larose (Dec. 18), former Jackson and current Hershey left wing Quintin Laing (Dec. 26), former Charlotte and current Hartford goaltender Al Montoya (Jan. 2), former Dayton and current Syracuse goaltender Dan LaCosta (Feb. 5), former Toledo and current Grand Rapids center Matt Ellis (Feb. 19), former Alaska and current San Antonio center Alex Leavitt (Mar. 5) and former Dayton and current Bridgeport center Eric Boguniecki (Mar. 12), former South Carolina and current Hershey center Kyle Wilson (Mar. 19) and former Fresno, current Worcester goaltender Thomas Greiss (Mar. 26) and former Augusta and current Portland goaltender Dave McKee (Apr. 2).

Former ECHL goaltenders have been named as the Rbk X-Pulse/AHL Goaltender of the Month each of the last five months. Nolan Schaefer, who played for Fresno as a rookie and now plays for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, won the award in March. Al Montoya, who played for Charlotte and now plays for Hartford, won the award for February while another former Checker Jason LaBarbera, who now plays for Manchester, won the award for January. Jonathan Boutin, who was an ECHL All-Star with Johnstown and now plays for Springfield, won in December, while Jaroslav Halak, who played for Long Beach and now plays for Montreal in the NHL, won for November when he was playing for Hamilton.

ECHL

The league officially changed its name to ECHL on May 19, 2003.

The Premier 'AA' Hockey League, the ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League in 2006-07, marking 10th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There have been 329 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including a record 47 in 2005-06.

There have been 184 former ECHL players who have played their first game in the NHL in the past five seasons and 107 former ECHL players have skated in the NHL this season. More than 100 players under contract to NHL teams have played in the ECHL this season.

The ECHL was represented for the sixth consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team, including Carolina Hurricanes head coach Peter Laviolette, who is the first ECHL coach to win the Stanley Cup.

There have been 26 ECHL players who have played their first NHL game this season: former Greenville and Richmond right wing Krys Barch (Dallas on Jan. 15), former Mississippi defenseman Sheldon Brookbank (Nashville on Feb. 6), former Reading goaltender Barry Brust (Los Angeles on Nov. 30), former Wheeling left wing Daniel Carcillo (Phoenix on Mar. 3), former Dayton left wing Riley Cote (Philadelphia on Mar. 24), former Toledo center Matt Ellis (Detroit on Dec. 18), former Wheeling defenseman Drew Fata (New York Islanders on Feb. 4), former Reading defenseman Jeff Finger (Colorado on Feb. 20), former Bakersfield and Reading goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji (Los Angeles on Jan. 13), former Charlotte defenseman Daniel Girardi (New York Rangers on Jan. 27), former Long Beach goaltender Jaroslav Halak (Montreal on Feb. 18), former Trenton goaltender Martin Houle (Philadelphia on Dec. 13), former Alaska left wing D.J. King (St. Louis on Oct. 5), former Wheeling defenseman David Koci (Chicago on Mar. 10), former Texas center Kamil Kreps (Florida on Jan. 7), former Florida center Drew Larman (Florida on Nov. 13), former Florida defenseman Martin Lojek (Florida on Feb. 3), former Toledo goaltender Joey MacDonald (Detroit on Oct. 19), former Pensacola center Kris Newbury (Toronto on Dec. 23), former South Carolina and Reading center Rich Peverley (Nashville on Mar. 4), former Augusta right wing Pierre Parenteau (Chicago on Feb. 7), former Columbia right wing Jesse Schultz (Vancouver on Nov. 28), former ECHL All-Star goaltender Mike Smith (Dallas on Oct. 21), former Reading left wing Shay Stephenson (Los Angeles on Mar. 1), former Augusta goaltender Mike Wall (Anaheim on Nov. 26) and former Stockton defenseman Bryan Young (Edmonton on Mar. 9).

In 2005-06 the ECHL and its member teams contributed more than $2.3 million for charity and relief funds, including those benefiting victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, while also making thousands of appearances by players, coaches, team personnel and mascots at schools, hospitals, libraries and charity functions.

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