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2002 ECHL All-Star Game Had Six Players Reach NHL

January 15, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The 2002 ECHL All-Star Game was the first time that ECHL coaches were asked to nominate those players who they felt to be prospects to move up to the American Hockey League and the National Hockey League.

The 2002 ECHL All-Star Game produced six players who went on to play in the NHL and the number increased to 24 players from 2003-06 as countless others played in the AHL. By comparison the first nine All-Star Games had 16 players who went on to play in the NHL.

Hosted by the Stockton Thunder and the City of Stockton at Stockton Arena, the 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game presented by Jackson Rancheria and Bud Light will be played on Jan. 23 with the 11th edition of the Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game Skills Competition being held on Jan. 22.

Michael Ryder, who has scored 190 points (91-99a) in 281 games in the NHL, was selected to play in the 2002 All-Star Game but he was unable to play after being called up to the AHL. He was named Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News in 2003-04 and finished second in voting for the Calder Cup awarded by the NHL to the top rookie.

Voted to be the starting goaltender for the Northern Conference, Curtis Sanford made his NHL debut with St. Louis on Oct. 17, 2002 and is now playing for the Vancouver Canucks.

Selected to the All-Star Game and named to the All-Rookie Team, Vern Fiddler made his NHL debut with Nashville on Nov. 2, 2002 and has played almost 200 games for the Predators the last four seasons.

Named to the ECHL All-Star Game as a rookie, Pat Leahy made his NHL debut on Dec. 6, 2003 and played parts of three seasons in the NHL with Boston and Nashville.

Selected as replacement starter for the Northern Conference, Kevin Colley made his NHL debut with the New York Islanders on Oct. 27, 2005 and had 52 penalty minutes in 16 games before suffering a career-ending injury on Jan. 31, 2006. He is currently the assistant coach of the Utah Grizzlies, who are the ECHL affiliate of the Islanders.

Selected to the All-Star Game as a rookie in 2001-02, David Gove has played in the AHL every season since and made his NHL debut on Jan. 31, 2006 with Carolina.

In addition to the six players, the 2002 game saw coaches Dave Farrish and Peter Horachek, referee Brian Pochmara and equipment manager Scott Moon all reach the NHL. Farrish became the second former ECHL coach to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup as an assistant coach for Anaheim in 2007 while Horachek is an assistant coach for Nashville.

Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game Notes
Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game is presented by Jackson Rancheria Casino & Hotel and Bud Light.

Game will be televised live at 10 p.m. ET on NHL Network for sixth-consecutive year.

Telecast available online free-of-charge through ECHL web site on B2 Networks, the "Official Broadband Broadcast Provider of the ECHL".

Broadcast carried live on XM Radio for third consecutive year on NHL Hockey Play-by-Play (XM Channel 206) at 10 p.m. ET on Jan. 23 in the United States on XM Radio and in Canada through XM Radio's partner, Canadian Satellite Radio.

The NHL Radio broadcast will be broadcast on KGEO-AM 1230 in Bakersfield, Calif.; 1640 WTNI and 1490 WXBD in Biloxi, Miss.; 1350 KTIK - The Ticket in Boise, Idaho; 790 ESPN Radio, The Deuce in Fresno, Calif.; AM-970 ESPN Radio in Modesto/Stockton, Calif.; ESPN 910 The Team in North Charleston, S.C.; KKAT AM 860 in Salt Lake City; 1420 KSTN-AM in Stockton, Calif.; and WKWK 97.3 FM in Wheeling, W.Va.

Stanley Cup and Patrick J. Kelly Cup will be on display at all events.

Henry Brabham, Patrick J. Kelly, Nick Vitucci and Chris Valicevic will be inducted as the inaugural class into the ECHL Hall of Fame at a luncheon on Jan. 23.

Diane and Tom Husband of Phoenix are the winners of the Chase Chevrolet "Win A Trip to the ECHL All-Star Game" contest, receiving roundtrip transportation to Stockton where they will stay at the new Sheraton Stockton Hotel at Regent Pointe, the official host hotel of the 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game.

Game-worn jerseys and game-used pucks from the All-Star Game and Skills Competition will be auctioned online at MeiGray.com.

ECHL
Celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08, the ECHL is the Premier 'AA' Hockey League and 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 25 teams playing 900 games in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08.

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

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the NHL in 2007-08, marking the 11th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There have been 341 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including a record 47 in 2005-06 and 26 in 2006-07. There have been 196 former ECHL players who have played their first game in the NHL in the past five seasons.

There are 15 coaches in the NHL who have ECHL experience including former Wheeling coach Peter Laviolette, who is head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, and former Mississippi coach Bruce Boudreau, who is head coach of the Washington Capitals.

The ECHL is represented for the seventh consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2007 with Anaheim assistant coach Dave Farrish, players Francois Beauchemin and George Parros and broadcasters John Ahlers and Steve Carroll.

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League in 2007-08 and for the past 18 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup champion.

In each of the last two seasons there have been more than 225 players who have played in both the ECHL and the AHL and there were over 800 call-ups involving more than 500 players.

In the last five seasons the ECHL has had more call-ups to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined with over 2,000 call-ups involving more than 1,000 players since 2002-03.

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

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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