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Former ECHL Goaltender Quick Named NHL Second Star

October 13, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


NEW YORK - The National Hockey League announced that former Reading Royals and current Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, San Jose Sharks left wing Dany Heatley and Vancouver Canucks center Henrik Sedin were named the NHL's 'Three Stars' for the week ending Oct. 11.

The Ontario Reign are the ECHL affiliate of the Kings have former ECHL player Raitis Ivanans and Richard Clune on their roster. Former ECHL player Jamie Kompon is an assistant coach for Los Angeles.

Quick was named the 'Second Star' after going 3-0-0 with a goals-against average of 2.67 to help Los Angeles improve to 3-1-0 and a tie for first place in the Pacific Division. He had 25 saves in a 6-4 win against San Jose on Oct. 6 while stopping 26 shots in a 6-3 win against Minnesota on Thursday and making 29 saves in a 2-1 win against St. Louis on Saturday.

Selected in the third round (72nd overall) by Los Angeles in the 2005 National Hockey League Entry Draft, Quick was 21-18-2 with four shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.48 and a save percentage of .914 in 44 games for the Kings in 2008-09.

He began the 2007-08 season in Reading and was 7-5-1 with a goals-against average of 2.46 and a save percentage of .907 in 13 games when he was reassigned by the Kings to Manchester of the American Hockey League on Nov. 18, 2007. He was 1-2-0 with a goals-against average of 2.67 and a save percentage of .909 in three games for the Monarchs before being recalled to Los Angeles on Dec. 2, 2007. He made his NHL debut on Dec. 6, 2007 making 15 saves in an 8-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres.

Quick joined ECHL All-Star and current Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Mike Smith in the ECHL record book when he recorded his first win, his first shutout and scored his first goal in the same game, a 3-0 win at Pensacola on Oct. 24, 2007. The goal was scored at 19:25 of the third period when the puck rolled the length of the ice and into the Pensacola net which was empty because goaltender Mike Brodeur had been pulled for an extra attacker. Quick was the last player to touch the puck, so he was credited with the unassisted goal.

Quick is one of nine goaltenders in league history to score a goal and was the first since Trevor Koenig of Atlantic City at Wheeling on Mar. 2, 2005. Corwin Saurdiff of Hampton Roads was the first ECHL goaltender to score a goal on Mar. 18, 1995 against Charlotte. Charlotte's Nick Vitucci, Erie's Olie Sundstrom and South Carolina's Sean Gauthier all accomplished the feat during the 1995-96 season and Toledo's Mark Bernard scored a goal on Mar. 27, 2001 against Johnstown.

ECHL players who have made their NHL debut this season are former Gwinnett Gladiators and 2006 ECHL All-Star right wing Guillaume Desbiens (Vancouver on Oct. 11) and former Johnstown Chiefs defenseman Jay Rosehill (Toronto on Oct. 1).

The ECHL had a record 78 players on NHL opening-day rosters, surpassing the 71 from a year ago and marking the seventh year in a row that there have been over 50 former ECHL players on opening-day rosters. The ECHL has former players on 29 of the 30 NHL teams and has affiliations with 27 of those, marking the 13th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There are 26 coaches with an ECHL background working behind the benches of teams in the NHL including Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau and New York Islanders head coach Scott Gordon of the New York Islanders while former ECHL player Dan Bylsma is head coach of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. It is the fifth consecutive season that there have been 11 or more coaches with an ECHL background working in the NHL. Boudreau, who coached Mississippi for three seasons winning the Kelly Cup championship in 1999, was named NHL Coach of the Year in 2007-08 becoming the first former ECHL coach to receive the award.

There are 20 former ECHL officials scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2009-10 with referees David Banfield, Francis Charron, Chris Ciamaga, Ghislain Herbert, Marc Joannette, Mike Leggo, Wes McCauley, Dean Morton, Dan O'Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Justin St. Pierre and Ian Walsh, and linesmen Steve Barton, Bryan Pancich, Brian Mach, Tim Nowak and Jay Sharrers.

There have been 409 players who have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL including a record 52 in 2008-09. The ECHL has had 217 players reach the NHL since 2002-03 when it changed its focus to become the primary developmental league for the NHL and the AHL. The ECHL had 97 players reach the NHL in its first 10 seasons and 215 in the first 15 years. There have been 153 ECHL players who have played their first game in the last five seasons for an average of more than 30 per year.

There were nine players who played in the ECHL and the NHL in 2008-09 with goaltenders Matt Climie (Idaho and Dallas), Riku Helenius (Elmira, Mississippi and Tampa Bay), Chris Holt (Alaska and St. Louis), Michal Neuvirth (South Carolina and Washington) and Marek Schwarz (Alaska and St. Louis), defensemen Wes O'Neill (Johnstown and Colorado), Raymond Macias (Johnstown and Colorado) and Kevin Quick (Augusta, Elmira and Tampa Bay) and right wing Joel Rechlicz (Utah and New York Islanders).

The ECHL was represented for the ninth year in a row on the Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma, player Ruslan Fedotenko, equipment managers Dana Heinze and Dave Zeigler, athletic trainers Chris Stewart and Scott Adams and scout Derek Clancey. There were 43 former players and 14 former coaches on 15 of the 16 teams competing in the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup Playoffs, marking the fourth year in a row that there have been at least 30 former ECHL players and the sixth consecutive season that over 25 players with ECHL experience have competed in the NHL postseason.

Former ECHL and current Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas was the recipient of the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL and was also presented the William Jennings Trophy with teammate Manny Fernandez as the goaltenders finishing the season having surrendered the fewest goals. Thomas was also named First Team All-NHL after registering a career-high 36 wins while leading the NHL with a goals-against average of 2.10 and a save percentage of .933 to help the Bruins finish with the most wins (53) and points (116) since 1971-72.

The ECHL was represented in the 2009 NHL All-Star Game by Mark Streit of the New York Islanders and Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins while former ECHL players Dan Ellis, Jonathan Quick and Tomas Vokoun were all selected as recipients of the NHL's "Three Stars" award in 2008-09.

The first ECHL player to play in the NHL was Johnstown Chiefs goaltender and current New York Islanders head coach Scott Gordon, who played his first game with the Quebec Nordiques against Buffalo on Jan. 30, 1990. The 100th player honor is shared by Jean Sebastien Aubin and Manny Legace, who both made their debut on Oct. 21, 1998 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. The 200th player was Brett McLean with the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 10, 2002 while the 300th was David Liffiton with the New York Rangers on Apr. 11, 2006 and the 400th was Phil Oreskovic on Mar. 9, 2009 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Former ECHL broadcasters working in the National Hockey League include John Ahlers and Steve Carroll of the Anaheim Ducks, Tom Callahan of the Nashville Predators, Dave Goucher of the Boston Bruins, Chris Kerber of the St. Louis Blues, Dave Mishkin of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Bob McElligott and John Michael of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Rob Simpson, who is a producer/host for The NHL Network.

Ryan Stanzel and Jeremy Zager, who were both recipients of the ECHL Media Relations Director of the Year award, are working in the communications department for the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. Former ECHL assistant director of communications Joe Siville and Kelly Murray are now with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals, respectively, while former ECHL director of communications Jason Rothwell is the creative director for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Premier 'AA' Hockey League Fast Facts
- Watch games live on B2 Networks, the "Official Broadband Broadcast Provider" of the ECHL.
- Watch ECHL games around the clock on ECHL TV on B2CableTV.com.
- The ECHL celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08 and is the third-longest tenured professional hockey league behind only the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League.
- ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league with 20 teams in 15 states and British Columbia in 2009-10.
- The league officially changed its name from East Coast Hockey League to ECHL on May 19, 2003.
- ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League and for the past 20 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup Champion.
- In the last six seasons the ECHL has had more call-ups to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with over 2,500 call-ups involving more than 1,300 players and in 2008-09 there were 10 times as many call-ups from the ECHL to the AHL than all other professional leagues.
- Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

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