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11 Former ECHL Players, Three Coaches In AHL All-Star Game

January 24, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL will be represented by 11 players and three coaches in the 2007 Rbk Hockey American Hockey League All-Star Classic on Monday at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario.

Four of the six starters for the Canadian team are former ECHL players with forward Zenon Konopka, defensemen Daniel Girardi and Lawrence Nycholat and goaltender Jason LaBarbera while Jaroslav Halak will start in goal for PlanetUSA. The Canadian roster also has forwards Kris Newbury and Martin St. Pierre, defensemen Daniel Girardi, T.J. Kemp and Mathieu Roy while the coaches are former Mississippi coaches Bruce Boudreau and Bob Woods, who are now the head coach and assistant coach, respectively, for Calder Cup champion Hershey. The PlanetUSA roster also has forward Keith Aucoin and assistant coach Dan Bylsma, who began his playing career in the ECHL with the Greensboro Monarchs and is now an assistant coach with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The ECHL has affiliations with 24 of the 27 teams in the American Hockey League in 2006-07 and for the past 17 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup champion. The ECHL has had more players called up to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined each of the past four seasons with 1,646 call ups involving almost 1,000 players.

One of 10 former ECHL coaches who are head coaches in the AHL, Boudreau is the only coach to win both the ECHL and the AHL titles having led Hershey to the Calder Cup championship in 2006 and Mississippi to the Kelly Cup championship in 1999.

LaBarbera, who played with Charlotte each of his first two seasons, was named AHL Most Valuable Player and AHL Goaltender of the Year in 2003-04. He became the fourth ECHL player to earn the MVP award joining Eric Boguniecki in 2001-02, Martin Brochu in 1999-2000, and Brad Smyth in 1995-96. LaBarbera is one of seven ECHL goaltenders to win the AHL award joining Dany Sabourin in 2005-06, Marc Lamothe in 2002-03, Martin Brochu in 1999-2000, Martin Biron in 1998-99, Manny Legace in 1995-96, and Frederic Chabot in 1993-94.

Konopka helped Idaho win the Kelly Cup as an expansion team in 2003-04. He led the Finals with six points while tying for the Finals lead with four goals and tied for the Kelly Cup Playoffs lead with nine goals and three game-winning goals. He was named to the ECHL All-Star Game and to the ECHL All-Rookie Team in 2002-03 while ranking second among league rookies with 48 assists and third with 70 points. Girardi began his career with Charlotte in 2005-06 while Nycholat began playing in 2001-02 with Jackson. 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.

St. Pierre began his professional career with Greenville and was selected to the ECHL All-Star Game and finished third among league rookies with 39 assists and ninth with 53 points in 45 games in 2004-05 while Newbury began 2004-05 with Pensacola while Aucoin played for Florida as a rookie in 2001-02.

Kemp was selected to the ECHL All-Star Game while also being named to the ECHL All-Rookie Team, scoring 40 points (13g-27a) in 60 games for Reading in 2005-06, while Roy played for Columbus as a rookie in 2003-04.

Six times this season the winner of the CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week award has been an ECHL player with Al Montoya, Charlotte and Hartford (Jan. 1), Jason Jaffray, Roanoke/Wheeling and Manitoba (Oct. 30), Zenon Konopka, Wheeling/Idaho and Portland (Nov. 13), Charles Linglet, Alaska/Las Vegas and Peoria (Dec. 4), Cory Larose, Jackson and Chicago (Dec. 18), and Quintin Laing, Jackson and Hershey (Dec. 26).

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. There have been 314 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 169 players who have played in the NHL after the ECHL in the past five seasons.

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.

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.

Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

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