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2004 ECHL All-star Game Had Six Players Reach NHL

January 17, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The 2004 ECHL All-Star Game had six players who went on to play in the National Hockey League and 25 others played in the American Hockey League.

Since the league began showcasing younger players in 2002 there have been 24 players that have reached the NHL compared to 16 players from the first nine All-Star Games.

Named to the 2004 All-Star Game in his second season, Alexandre Burrows made his NHL debut with Vancouver on Jan. 2, 2006 and signed a three-year contract with the Canucks in September 2006. He has played each of the last three seasons in the NHL and has 33 points (14g-19a) and 198 penalty minutes in 166 regular season games and one goal and 14 penalty minutes in 11 playoff games with Vancouver.

Selected as a starter for the All-Star Game in 2003 and 2004, Jason Jaffray scored the game-winning goal and had an assist in his NHL debut with Vancouver on Dec. 12, 2007 and scored five points (2g-3a) in his first 12 games. He was ECHL Rookie of the Year and named First Team All-ECHL and to All-Rookie Team in 2002-03 and was Second Team All-ECHL and third in voting for Most Valuable Player in 2003-04.

Selected to the All-Star Game as a rookie, Dan Ellis made his NHL debut with Dallas on Feb. 18, 2004 and is now playing this season for Nashville where he is 10-5-0 with three shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.42 and a save percentage of .917 in 19 games.

Michael Garnett, who was selected to the All-Star Game in his second season, played his first NHL game on Oct. 12, 2005 with Atlanta while Greg Jacina, who was chosen for the All-Star Game as a rookie, made his NHL debut with Florida on Nov. 12, 2005 and played parts of two seasons with the Panthers.

In addition to the six players, the 2004 All-Star Game also saw Jason Serbus reach the NHL as assistant medical trainer for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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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