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Curry, Sestito Increase Number Of ECHL Players In NHL To 370

November 27, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - Former Las Vegas Wranglers and Wheeling Nailers goaltender John Curry and former Greenville Grrrowl and Stockton Thunder center Tim Sestito played their first National Hockey League game on Wednesday, raising the number of players who have played in the NHL after the ECHL to 370.

Curry came on in relief of former ECHL goaltender Dany Sabourin 9:27 into the second period and picked up the victory stopping all 11 shots in a 5-3 win for Pittsburgh while Sestito had a shot in a 2-1 loss to Los Angeles.

"I didn't have time to think. All I could do was just go in and play," said Curry, a 24-year-old Minnesota native. "Believe me, it was very nerve-racking."

The Premier 'AA' Hockey League, the ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the NHL, marking the 12th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams. Wheeling is the ECHL affiliate of Pittsburgh and Stockton is the ECHL affiliate of Edmonton.

There have been 114 former ECHL players who have played their first NHL game in the last four seasons and a record 47 players made their debut in 2005-06. Seventy-two former ECHL players were on NHL opening-day rosters this season and 333 ECHL players attended NHL training camps, including 139 who played in the league last season.

The 24-year-old Sestito had 44 points (21g-23a) and 127 penalty minutes in 72 regular season games and four points (2g-2a) and 24 penalty minutes in six Kelly Cup Playoff games for Greenville as a rookie in 2005-06. He returned to the ECHL in 2006-07 and had 26 points (13g-13a) and 132 penalty minutes in 66 regular season games and three points (2g-1a) and six penalty minutes in six Kelly Cup Playoff games for Stockton in 2006-07.

Curry attended training camp with Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL in 2007-08 before being assigned to Las Vegas where he was 4-1-0 with a goals-against average of 2.81 and a save percentage of .905 in six games before heading to Hanover, Germany for the Deutschland Cup where he helped the United States capture the silver medal. He was reassigned to Wheeling upon his return from Germany and after making one start for the Nailers was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by Pittsburgh. He was 24-12-3 with three shutouts and a 2.23 goals-against average in 40 regular season games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and was named to the 2007-08 AHL All-Rookie Team.

Former ECHL coaches working as head coaches in the NHL are Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals, Scott Gordon of the New York Islanders and Peter Laviolette of the Carolina Hurricanes. Boudreau, who coached Mississippi for three seasons winning the Kelly Cup championship in 1999, was named NHL Coach of the Year in 2007-08 becoming the first former ECHL coach to receive the award. Laviolette, who began his coaching career with the Wheeling Nailers, led Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006. There are 18 assistant coaches in the NHL who were players or coaches in the ECHL.

Fifteen former ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Wheeling Nailers and ECHL All-Star defenseman Paul Bissonnette (Pittsburgh on Oct. 4) , former Las Vegas Wranglers and Wheeling Nailers goaltender John Curry (Pittsburgh on Nov. 26), former Greenville Grrrowl goaltender Jeff Deslauriers (Edmonton on Oct. 17) , former Gwinnett Gladiators right wing Pat Dwyer former Columbus Cottonmouths and Tallahassee Tiger Sharks left wing Mitch Fritz (New York Islanders on Oct. 30), former Charlotte Checkers center Dwight Helminen (Carolina on Oct. 28), former Trenton Devils right wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (New Jersey on Oct. 22), former Charlotte Checkers defenseman Steve MacIntyre (Edmonton on Oct. 15), former Phoenix RoadRunners and Wheeling Nailers center Cam Paddock (St. Louis on Nov. 14), former Las Vegas Wranglers defenseman Adam Pardy (Calgary on Oct. 9), former Gwinnett Gladiators center Jared Ross (Philadelphia on Oct. 11) , former Alaska Aces goaltender Marek Schwarz (St. Louis on Oct. 25), former Greenville Grrrowl and Stockton Thunder center Tim Sestito (Edmonton on Nov. 26), former Dayton Bombers and Las Vegas Wranglers defenseman Tyler Sloan (Washington on Oct. 21) and former Augusta Lynx defenseman Brett Skinner (New York Islanders on Oct. 27).

The ECHL is represented for the eighth consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2008 by Aaron Downey of the Detroit Red Wings.

There are 18 former ECHL officials scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2008-09 with referees David Banfield, Chris Ciamaga, Ghislain Hebert, Marc Joannette, Mike Leggo, Wes McCauley, Dean Morton, Dan O'Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Justin St. Pierre and Ian Walsh and linesmen Steve Barton, Brian Mach, Tim Nowak and Jay Sharrers. Barton, Joannette, Leggo, McCauley, Nowak, Pollock, Rooney and Sharrers all worked the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Premier 'AA' Hockey League Fast Facts
- The ECHL celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08 and is 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 23 teams playing 828 games in 16 states and British Columbia in 2008-09.
- The Reading Royals, the City of Reading and the Sovereign Center will host the 17th Annual ECHL All-Star Game on Jan. 21, 2009 and the 12th Annual All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 20, 2009.
- The league officially changed its name from East Coast Hockey League to ECHL on May 19, 2003.
- ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League and for the past 19 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup Champion.
- In the last six 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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