
20 ECHL Alums to Participate in 2014 Winter Olympics
January 8, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release
PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL will be represented by former player Dan Bylsma, who is head coach of the United States, former coach Peter Laviolotte, who is an assistant coach for the United States, along with 18 players in the 2014 Winter Olympic Games which begin next month in Sochi, Russia.
Bylsma played two seasons with the Greensboro Generals from 1992-94, scoring 90 points (39g-51a) in 85 games. He went on to play 429 career games in the National Hockey League, and has been the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins since February 2009. He led the Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup title and received the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year following the 2010-11 season.
Laviolette made his head coaching debut with Wheeling in 1997-98, leading the club to a 37-24-9 record as the Nailers advanced to the Northern Conference Finals. The next season, he was named head coach of the American Hockey League's Providence Bruins, and he led the club to the Calder Cup title. Laviolette became the first former ECHL coach to lead his team to Stanley Cup title with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.
Seven of the 12 teams have an ECHL player led by Latvia which has six former ECHL players followed by Austria with four former players. Norway has three former ECHL players, Slovakia has two former players while Canada, Switzerland and the United States each have one player.
Latvia's Kristers Gudlevskis is the only player on an Olympic roster who has played in the ECHL during the 2013-14 season. Under contract to the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning, Guslevskiks is currently second in the league with a 1.83 goals-against average and tied for fourth with a .925 save percentage. He is currently recalled to Syracuse of the American Hockey League.
Jonathan Quick, who suited up for the Reading Royals during the 2007-08 season, has been named as a goaltender for the United States for the second straight Olympics. The Los Angeles Kings' goaltender was named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2012 after leading the Kings to the first Stanley Cup title in team history.
AUSTRIA - Florian Iberer (Alaska, 2006-07); Andre Lakos (Augusta, 2002-03); Brian Lebler (Elmira, 2010-11) and Thomas Pock (Charlotte, 2004-05)
CANADA - Mike Smith (Lexington, 2002-03)
LATVIA - Armands Berzins (Louisiana, 2003-04 and Wheeling, 2004-05); Kristers Gudlevskis (Florida, 2013-14); Ervins Mustukovs (Toledo, 2006-07 and Elmira, 2007-08); Arvid Rekis (Peoria, 2000-03); Juris Stals (Charlotte, 2004-06) and Herbert Vasiljevs (Knoxville, 1996-97)
NORWAY - Morten Ask (Toledo, 2003-04 and Las Vegas, 2003-05); Marius Holtet (Louisiana, 2004-05) and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (Dayton, 2004-05)
SLOVAKIA - Jaroslav Halak (Long Beach, 2005-06) and Tomas Zaborsky (Charlotte, 2008-09 and Dayton, 2008-09)
SWITZERLAND - Mark Streit (Tallahassee, 1999-00)
UNITED STATES - Jonathan Quick (Reading, 2007-08)
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