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Bakersfield, Charlotte Receive ECHL Marketing Award Of Excellence

June 17, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced that the Bakersfield Condors are the National Conference recipient of the Award of Excellence In Marketing award while the Charlotte Checkers were chosen as the winner in the American Conference.

The winners are selected by Princeton Communications Group in Pennington, N.J.

The Condors used their 10th anniversary in Bakersfield to engage fans and showcase the team's history through their web site, game night videos, game program, advertising, ticket books and promotions.

Celebrating their 15th anniversary as a member of the ECHL in 2007-08, the Checkers used the theme of "Our Team, Our Town" to continue to capitalize on event-based marketing initiatives, community outreach and quality customer service in one of the league's largest markets. It is the second year in a row that Charlotte has been recognized with the award.

ECHL Marketing Award Winners

Year Team
2007-08 Bakersfield Condors and Charlotte Checkers
2006-07 Alaska Aces and Charlotte Checkers
2005-06 San Diego Gulls
2004-05 George Sandoval Alaska Aces
2003-04 Eric Trapp/John Cunningham Idaho Steelheads
2002-03 Bart Rogers/Mike Nelson Peoria Rivermen
2001-02 Mark Miller Florida Everblades
2000-01 Richard Lisk Trenton Titans
99-2000 Bart Rogers Peoria Rivermen
1998-99 Pat Pylypuik Toledo Storm
1997-98 Neil Hoyt Pensacola Ice Pilots
1996-97 Belinda Wiggins Richmond Renegades

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 Mississippi and current Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau, who is the 2007-08 winner of the NHL Coach of the Year award, and former Wheeling coach Peter Laviolette, who is head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes.

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 19 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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ECHL Stories from June 17, 2008


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