Babik, Burke Named Broadcasters Of The Year
Published on June 13, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release
PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced that Joe Babik of the Fresno
Falcons is the National Conference recipient of the ECHL Broadcaster of the
Year award while Brendan Burke of the Wheeling Nailers was selected as the
winner in the American Conference.
The winners were chosen in voting by the league media relations directors
and broadcasters.
Babik has been the "Voice of the Falcons" and director of media relations
for Fresno the last two years. He was the director of broadcasting and
media relations and the play-by-play voice for the Pee Dee Pride of the
ECHL from 2001-05 and was a member of the audio broadcast team for the 2004
ECHL All-Star Game.
Burke has been the "Voice of the Nailers" as well as director of
broadcasting and communications for the team the last two seasons. He was a
member of the audio broadcast team for the 2008
ECHL All-Star Game and works each offseason as the play-by-play voice
for the Lakewood BlueClaws, who are the Philadelphia Phillies affiliate in
the South Atlantic League.
ECHL Broadcaster Award Winners
Year Recipient Team
2007-08 Joe Babik Fresno Falcons
Brendan Burke Wheeling Nailers
2006-07 Joe O'Donnell Idaho Steelheads
Kevin Reiter Florida Everblades
2005-06 Dan Weiss Phoenix RoadRunners
2004-05 John Michael Johnstown Chiefs
2003-04 Jack Michaels Alaska Aces
2002-03 Darren Abbott South Carolina Stingrays
2001-02 Joe Zydlo Trenton Titans
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 that will play with 24 teams in 16 states and British
Columbia in 2008-09.
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 355
former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in
the ECHL, including 99 in the last three seasons. There have been 210
former ECHL players who have played their first game in the NHL in the past
seven 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 eighth consecutive year on the National
Hockey League championship team in 2008 with Detroit Red Wings forward
Aaron Downey.
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.
ECHL Stories from June 13, 2008
- Street Wolves Pound The Asphalt On Saturday - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Fans Vote Stockton Arena Among Country's Top Sports Venues - Stockton Thunder
- Former Sea Wolves Coach Boudreau Wins Jack Adams Award - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- AHL Winner Has Record 14 Former ECHL Players - ECHL
- Babik, Burke Named Broadcasters Of The Year - ECHL
- Former ECHL Coach Boudreau Is NHL Coach Of The Year - ECHL
- Walk With The Falcons Tomorrow - Fresno Falcons
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.
