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ECHL Names 15th Anniversary Team

March 22, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. – The East Coast Hockey League on Saturday announced its 15th Anniversary First-Team and Second-Team. The ECHL 15th Anniversary Team was determined in voting by coaches, players, front office personnel and media from the first 15 years of the ECHL.

The ECHL 15th Anniversary First-Team is:

G – Nick Vitucci

D – Tom Nemeth

D – Chris Valicevic

LW – Rod Taylor

C – Darryl Noren

RW – Phil Berger

Coach – John Brophy

The ECHL 15th Anniversary Second-Team is:

G – Daniel Berthiaume

D – Kurt Seher

D – Bob Woods

LW – Darren Schwartz

C – John Spoltore

RW – Jay Murphy

Coach – John Marks

The natural choice to oversee the 12 players and two coaches is Patrick J. Kelly, who becomes the 15th member as the President/GM of the ECHL 15th Anniversary Team.

Vitucci was named first-team goaltender on 16 of 17 ballots with Berthiaume being named on the 17th. Valicevic was named first-team defense on 16 ballots while Taylor was named first-team left wing on 16 ballots.

Founded in 1988-89, the East Coast Hockey League has had more than 4,200 players in 15 seasons. The members of the 15th Anniversary Teams have combined to score 5,454 points on 2,133 goals and 3,321 assists in 5,862 games.

The players of the 15th Anniversary Team have combined to win 12 ECHL Championships and have appeared in the ECHL Finals 24 times. John Brophy has won the ECHL title in each of his three Finals appearances while John Marks has won the ECHL title in both of his appearances in the Finals.

The team members have combined for two Playoff MVP awards, two MVP awards, seven Defensemen of the Year awards, one Goaltender of the Year award, and four Leading Scorer awards. Team members have been named to the All-ECHL First-Team 15 times and to the All-ECHL Second-Team two times while combining for 25 appearances in the ECHL All-Star Game.

Five players are playing or have played in the ECHL in 2002-03. First-team defenseman Tom Nemeth is playing for Dayton in 2002-03 while second-team defenseman Kurt Seher is playing his 10th ECHL season with all 10 years in a Charlotte Checkers uniform. First-team left wing Rod Taylor set the ECHL scoring record on January 29, 2003 with South Carolina and also played two games with Peoria. Second-team right wing Jay Murphy and second-team goaltender Daniel Berthiaume have played an important role in the record-setting performance of Greensboro in 2002-03.

Two players have continued their hockey careers in the ECHL as coaches and both coaching selections are still behind the bench in the ECHL. First-team goaltender Nick Vitucci is in his second season as an assistant coach with Greenville, whose head coach is second-team coach selection John Marks. First-team coach John Brophy is in his second season behind the bench for the Wheeling Nailers while second-team defenseman Bob Woods is head coach of Mississippi, leading the Sea Wolves into the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the second time in as many seasons behind the bench.

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