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Beckford-Tseu Is 350th Player To Play In NHL After ECHL

February 22, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - Former Alaska Aces goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu became the 350th player to play in the National Hockey League after playing in the ECHL when he made his debut with the St. Louis Blues in a 5-1 loss at Los Angeles on Thursday.

The 23 year old came on in relief of former ECHL goaltender Manny Legace in the second period and stopped eight of the nine shots he faced in the final 26:37.

Beckford-Tseu is the second player to play his first game this week, joining former Wheeling left wing Joe Jensen, who played for Carolina on Monday. Jensen and Beckford-Tseu are the second and third players who have played in both the ECHL and the NHL this season, join goaltender Jonathan Quick, who has played for both Reading and Los Angeles. Beckford-Tseu is the 21st former ECHL player to play his first NHL game this year and the 205th to make his debut in the past seven seasons, including 26 in 2006-07.

The Premier 'AA' Hockey League has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the NHL, marking the 11th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams.

Selected in the fifth round (159th overall) by St. Louis Blues in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Beckford-Tseu has been named Rbk Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week five times and was named goaltender of the month for October 2005. He is 41-14-5 with five shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.21 and a save percentage of .921 in 63 regular season ECHL games with Alaska and Peoria.

The 6-foot-3 and 205-pound Beckford-Tseu, who was called up to St. Louis on Monday, is 7-1-0 with a goals-against average of 2.16 and a save percentage of .927 in eight games with Alaska and 15-9-2 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 2.61 and a save percentage of .900 in 28 games with Peoria. He was named Rbk Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week for the week ending Nov. 4 after going 2-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .961 save percentage.

In 2006-07, Beckford-Tseu was 7-0-0 with two shutouts, a goals-against average of 1.27 and a save percentage of .950 save percentage in seven games with Alaska and 12-11-4 with one shutout, a goals-against average of 2.72 and a save percentage of .900 in 29 games with Peoria.

In his second professional season in 2005-06, he became the first player in league history to be named Rbk Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week four times. He was selected as a starter for the 2006 ECHL All-Star Game, but did not play as he was called up to the Blues. He was 16-1-2 with two shutouts, a goals-against average of 1.87 and a save percentage of .929 in 19 regular season games for Alaska and 8-4 with three shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.04 and a save percentage of .930 in 12 games in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. He also played in the AHL with Peoria where he was 7-5-1 with a goals-against average of 3.10 and a save percentage of .885 in 16 regular season games and 0-4 with two overtime losses, a goals-against average of 3.78 and a save percentage of .872 in the postseason.

In his rookie season in 2004-05, he was 11-12-3 with a goals-against average of 2.71 and a save percentage of .908 in 29 games with Peoria of the ECHL and also played in the AHL with Worcester, making seven saves in 29 minutes.

Twenty-six former ECHL players made their NHL debut in 2006-07 including two who played in both the ECHL and NHL. Yutaka Fukufuji played for Reading and Los Angeles while Bryan Young skated for Stockton and Edmonton. Dave McKee played for Augusta and dressed five games as the backup goaltender for Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim.

Former ECHL players that have played their first NHL game in 2007-08 are: former Peoria Rivermen and Alaska Aces goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu (St. Louis on Feb. 21), former Florida Everblades center David Brine (Florida on Feb. 2), former Idaho Steelheads right wing B.J. Crombeen (Dallas on Jan. 19), former Gwinnett Gladiators left wing Kevin Doell (Atlanta on Jan. 4), former Alaska defenseman Zack FitzGerald (Vancouver on Feb. 5), former Fresno goaltender Thomas Greiss (San Jose on Jan. 14), former Roanoke Express and Wheeling Nailers left wing Jason Jaffray (Vancouver on Dec. 12), former Wheeling Nailers left wing Joe Jensen (Carolina on Feb. 18), former Toledo Storm goaltender Drew MacIntyre (Vancouver on Dec. 13), former San Diego Gulls left wing Cody McLeod (Colorado on Dec. 19), former Alaska Aces and Pensacola Ice Pilots center Chris Minard (Pittsburgh on Jan. 21), former Columbia Inferno center Brandon Nolan (Carolina on Dec. 22), former Johnstown Chiefs and Fresno Falcons goaltender Dmitri Patzold (San Jose on Oct. 7), former Gwinnett Gladiators and Louisiana IceGators left wing Pascal Pelletier (Boston on Jan. 17), former Reading Royals goaltender Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles on Dec. 6), former Stockton Thunder left wing Liam Reddox (Edmonton on Dec. 7), former Gwinnett Gladiators left wing Colin Stuart (Atlanta on Dec. 29), former Columbus Chill, Richmond Renegades and Trenton Titans left wing Pete Vandermeer (Phoenix on Feb. 10), former San Diego goaltender Tyler Weiman (Colorado on Oct. 4), former Charlotte Checkers right wing Craig Weller (Phoenix on Oct. 4) and former Phoenix RoadRunners center Daniel Winnik (Phoenix Coyotes on Oct. 4).

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.

Milestone Former ECHL Players In NHL

1 - Scott Gordon, Jan. 30, 1990 for Quebec against Buffalo
100 - Jean Sebastien Aubin, Oct. 21, 1998 for Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay
Manny Legace, Oct. 21, 1998 for Los Angeles at Florida
200 - Brett McLean, Dec. 10, 2002 for Chicago at New York Islanders
250 - Matt Yeats, Mar. 22, 2004 for Washington at New York Islanders
275 - Brian Eklund, Nov. 8, 2005 for Tampa Bay at Montreal
300 - David Liffiton, Apr. 11, 2006 for New York Rangers against New York Islanders
325 - Rich Peverley, Mar. 4, 2007 for Nashville at Anaheim
350 - Chris Beckford-Tseu, Feb. 21, 2008 for St. Louis at Los Angeles

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 29 teams in the American Hockey League in 2007-08 and for the past 17 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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