Former Bombers Coach Playfair Named Head Coach Of Calgary Flames

Published on July 12, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release

PRINCETON, N.J. - The Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League announced that former Dayton Bombers coach Jim Playfair has replaced Darryl Sutter as head coach. Sutter will remain as the team's general manager, a position he has held since 2003.

The Las Vegas Wranglers are the ECHL affiliate of the Flames of the NHL and the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights of the American Hockey League.

Playfair is the fifth former ECHL coach to become a head coach in the NHL joining Peter Laviolette, John Torchetti, Bruce Cassidy and Dave Allison. Laviolette is the current head coach of the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes and the United States Olympic team having previously coached the New York Islanders. Torchetti was interim head coach for the final 12 games of 2005-06 for the Los Angeles Kings after filling the same role for the Florida Panthers at the end of 2003-04. Cassidy coached Washington to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in his first season as head coach in 2002-03 while Allison coached Ottawa for 25 games in 1995-96. Brian McCutcheon, who was ECHL Coach of the Year with Columbus in 1996-97, is an assistant coach with Buffalo who shared coaching duties with fellow assistant Scott Arniel while head coach Lindy Ruff attended to his ill daughter in 2005-06.

The 42-year-old Playfair began his coaching career in 1993-94 with Dayton and was 106-76-24 while leading the Bombers to the postseason in all three seasons. He was voted ECHL Coach of the Year in 1994-95 after the Bombers went 42-17-9 and coached the Northern Conference to a 10-7 win in the 1996 All-Star Game. Playfair spent five seasons with the Michigan K-Wings of the International Hockey League beginning as an assistant coach before being named head coach on Jan. 25, 2000.

He joined the Flames as an assistant coach on Jan. 3, 2003 after spending three seasons as the head coach of Calgary's primary development club in the American Hockey League where he was 83-77-22-10. He was named Minor Professional Coach of the Year by The Hockey News after leading the Saint John Flames to their first Calder Cup championship in 2000-01.

The Fort St. James, British Columbia native played nine seasons of professional hockey including 21 games in the NHL with Chicago and Edmonton, which selected him in the first round (20th overall) in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He was team captain for the Indianapolis Ice when they captured the Turner Cup championship in 1989-90, but had his career end prematurely after suffering a retina injury in 1991-92. He played in the Western Hockey League with Portland, helping the Winterhawks win the Memorial Cup championship in 1982-83, and Calgary.

About The ECHL

The league officially changed its name to ECHL on May 19, 2003.

The Premier 'AA' Hockey League, the ECHL had affiliations with 25 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League in 2005-06.

There have been 303 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including a record 47 in 2005-06 and 158 in the past five seasons, and there were 13 former ECHL coaches behind the benches of NHL teams in 2005-06.

The ECHL had affiliations with 21 of the 27 teams in the American Hockey League in 2005-06 and for the past 17 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup Champion.

The ECHL raised its average attendance for the third straight year in 2005-06 drawing 3,934,794 for 900 games which is an average of 4,372 per game, an increase of more than nine percent from 2004-05 and the largest per-game average since 1999-2000. Six teams surpassed 200,000 and nine teams averaged 5,000 per game for the first time since 1999-2000 as the league welcomed 39 sellout crowds and 13 of the 22 returning teams raised their average attendance from a year ago.

ECHL Stories from July 12, 2006

• Boise to host 2007 ECHL All-Star Game - Idaho Steelheads
• Condors Re-sign Reagan Leslie and Add Netminder to Roster - Bakersfield Condors
• Rbk Hockey Is Title Sponsor For 2007 ECHL All-Star Game - ECHL
• Steelheads, Boise Host Rbk Hockey ECHL All-Star Game - ECHL
• Lynx partner with Anaheim Ducks - Augusta Lynx
• 'Blades sign Aucoin for '06-'07 - Florida Everblades
• Inferno Announce New Affiliation - Columbia Inferno
• Augusta adds two to staff - Augusta Lynx
• Captain Lang back with Lynx - Augusta Lynx
• Former Bombers Coach Playfair Named Head Coach Of Calgary Flames - ECHL
• Former Bombers coach becomes coach of Calgary Flames - Dayton Bombers
• Bombers to Hold Press Conference - Dayton Bombers

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