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Former ECHL Coach Laviolette Named Head Coach Of Flyers

December 7, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League named former ECHL coach Peter Laviolette as their head coach on Friday.

Laviolette began his coaching career in the ECHL in 1997-98 when he led Wheeling to the conference finals in the Kelly Cup Playoffs after finishing 37-24-9 in the regular season.

The Kalamazoo Wings are the ECHL affiliate of the Flyers. Every ECHL team has an affiliation with an NHL team and the league has affiliations with 28 of the 30 NHL teams, marking the 13th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

In his first season as a professional coach in 1997-98, Laviolette led Wheeling to a second-place division finish with a 37-24-9 record and the Nailers advanced to the conference finals of the Kelly Cup Playoffs before losing to eventual champion Hampton Roads.

He coached Carolina in the NHL from 2003-09 and was 167-122-34 in 323 regular season games. He led the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup championship in 2006, becoming the first former ECHL coach to hoist the coveted trophy, and was a finalist for the NHL Coach of the Year.

Laviolette became the second ECHL coach to become a head coach in the NHL when he took over the New York Islanders in 2001. The Islanders qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2002 and 2003 after missing the postseason for seven consecutive seasons.

Prior to joining the Islanders, Laviolette was an assistant coach with Boston of the NHL in 2000-01 and was head coach of Providence of the American Hockey League from 1998-2000. He became the first ECHL coach to be named AHL Coach of the Year in 1998-99 after leading Providence to the Calder Cup championship.

He was head coach of the United States hockey team in the 2006 Olympics and was head coach of Team USA International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships in 2004 and 2005.

There have been 425 players who have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL including 18 who have played their first game this season and a record 52 who made their debut in 2008-09. The ECHL has had 233 players reach the NHL since 2002-03 when it changed its focus to become the primary developmental league for the NHL and the AHL. The ECHL had 97 players reach the NHL in its first 10 seasons and 215 in the first 15 years. There have been 169 ECHL players who have played their first game in the last five seasons for an average of more than 33 per year.

There are 27 coaches with an ECHL background working behind the benches of teams in the NHL including Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau, New York Islanders head coach Scott Gordon and Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette while former ECHL player Dan Bylsma is head coach of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. It is the fifth consecutive season that there have been 11 or more coaches with an ECHL background working in the NHL.

There are 20 former ECHL officials scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2009-10 with referees David Banfield, Francis Charron, Chris Ciamaga, Ghislain Herbert, 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, Bryan Pancich, Brian Mach, Tim Nowak and Jay Sharrers.

There were nine players who played in the ECHL and the NHL in 2008-09 with goaltenders Matt Climie (Idaho and Dallas), Riku Helenius (Elmira, Mississippi and Tampa Bay), Chris Holt (Alaska and St. Louis), Michal Neuvirth (South Carolina and Washington) and Marek Schwarz (Alaska and St. Louis), defensemen Wes O'Neill (Johnstown and Colorado), Raymond Macias (Johnstown and Colorado) and Kevin Quick (Augusta, Elmira and Tampa Bay) and right wing Joel Rechlicz (Utah and New York Islanders).

The ECHL was represented for the ninth year in a row on the Stanley Cup champion with Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma, player Ruslan Fedotenko, equipment managers Dana Heinze and Dave Zeigler, athletic trainers Chris Stewart and Scott Adams and scout Derek Clancey. There were 43 former players and 14 former coaches on 15 of the 16 teams competing in the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup Playoffs, marking the fourth year in a row that there have been at least 30 former ECHL players and the sixth consecutive season that over 25 players with ECHL experience have competed in the NHL postseason.

Former ECHL and current Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas was the recipient of the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL and was also presented the William Jennings Trophy with teammate Manny Fernandez as the goaltenders finishing the season having surrendered the fewest goals. Thomas was also named First Team All-NHL after registering a career-high 36 wins while leading the NHL with a goals-against average of 2.10 and a save percentage of.933 to help the Bruins finish with the most wins (53) and points (116) since 1971-72.

The first ECHL player to play in the NHL was Johnstown Chiefs goaltender and current New York Islanders head coach Scott Gordon, who played his first game with the Quebec Nordiques against Buffalo on Jan. 30, 1990. The 100th player honor is shared by Jean Sebastien Aubin and Manny Legace, who both made their debut on Oct. 21, 1998 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. The 200th player was Brett McLean with the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 10, 2002 while the 300th was David Liffiton with the New York Rangers on Apr. 11, 2006 and the 400th was Phil Oreskovic on Mar. 9, 2009 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Former ECHL broadcasters working in the National Hockey League include John Ahlers and Steve Carroll of the Anaheim Ducks, Tom Callahan of the Nashville Predators, Dave Goucher of the Boston Bruins, Chris Kerber of the St. Louis Blues, Dave Mishkin of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Bob McElligott and John Michael of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Rob Simpson, who is a producer/host for The NHL Network.

Ryan Stanzel and Jeremy Zager, who were both recipients of the ECHL Media Relations Director of the Year award, are working in the communications department for the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. Former ECHL assistant director of communications Joe Siville and Kelly Murray are now with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals, respectively, while former ECHL director of communications Jason Rothwell is the creative director for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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