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AHL, NHL Load ECHL Rosters With Talent For Playoffs

April 16, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The end of the regular season in the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League has seen ECHL teams receive an influx of players contracted to the two higher leagues for the Kelly Cup Playoffs.

As a result this year's playoffs promise to provide perhaps the most competitive and highly-skilled rosters in league history. The rosters have the potential to get even stronger as teams are eliminated in the AHL and the NHL allowing more players listed on ECHL playoff rosters to join their ECHL team.

The playoff rosters submitted by the 21 teams for the Kelly Cup Playoffs had 86 players on NHL contracts and 73 players on AHL contracts. While many teams lament the loss of players to higher leagues during the season this year the NHL and the AHL have returned the favor by reassigning prospects to get invaluable postseason experience and playing time.

Through the first 30 games, 132 of the 159 players (83 percent) have been in the lineup for the ECHL postseason with 70 for the NHL (81 percent) and 62 for the AHL (85 percent).

There are eight first-round draft choices including Alaska goaltender Marek Schwarz, who was selected in the first round (17th overall) by St. Louis in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. The 21 year old leads the Kelly Cup Playoffs with four wins and 154 saves while ranking third in save percentage with .951 and seventh in goals-against average with 1.83.

Texas rookie defenseman A.J. Thelen was selected in the first round (12th overall) by Minnesota in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft while the 2005 NHL Entry Draft produced South Carolina defenseman Sasha Pokulok, who was chosen 14th overall by Washington, and Ryan O'Marra of Stockton who was the 15th player selected.

Five of the goaltenders in the Kelly Cup Playoffs have played in the NHL including Danny Taylor of Reading and Chris Beckford-Tseu of Alaska, who played their first NHL game in the last 60 days. Taylor, who commuted between Los Angeles and Reading in the last week of the regular season to get the minimum number of games played with the Royals, made his debut with Los Angeles on Mar. 29. Beckford-Tseu played his first game on Feb. 21 with St. Louis, the same club for which Schwarz has played four NHL games including two this season.

Although he has not played a game in the NHL, Gwinnett goaltender Craig Kowalski does have a Stanley Cup ring after serving as the third goaltender for the Carolina Hurricanes during their run to the NHL championship in 2006.

The players in the Kelly Cup Playoffs have 579 games of NHL experience including 166 combined for Las Vegas twins Peter Ferraro and Chris Ferraro and 29 for Victoria's Jordan Krestanovich and Patrick Coulombe.

ECHL Team NHL Contracts AHL Contracts
Alaska 5 (3 played) 3 (2 played)
Augusta 5 (4 played) 2 (2 played)
Bakersfield 1 (1 played) 1 (1 played)
Charlotte 4 (3 played) 3 (3 played)
Cincinnati 5 (4 played) 7 (5 played)
Columbia 1 (1 played) 6 (4 played)
Dayton 3 (3 played) 1 (1 played)
Elmira 4 (3 played) 1 (1 played)
Florida 8 (6 played) 4 (4 played)
Fresno 0 0
Gwinnett 6 (6 played) 4 (3 played)
Idaho 4 (3 played) 5 (5 played)
Johnstown 3 (3 played) 5 (4 played)
Las Vegas 5 (4 played) 4 (2 played)
Mississippi 5 (3 played) 1 (1 played)
Reading 5 (5 played) 5 (5 played)
South Carolina 7 (4 played) 2 (1 played)
Stockton 8 (7 played) 3 (3 played)
Texas 2 (2 played) 6 (5 played)
Utah 2 (2 played) 8 (8 played)
Victoria 3 (3 played) 2 (2 played)

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ECHL Stories from April 16, 2008


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