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Former ECHL Players Now AHL All-Stars

Published on January 29, 2003 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. – Six former East Coast Hockey League players are on the rosters for the 2003 Dodge American Hockey League All-Star Classic, scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on Monday. The PlanetUSA All-Star roster includes defenseman Joe Corvo and goaltenders Derek Gustafson and Karl Goehring while the Canadian All-Star roster features forwards John Tripp and Jean-Guy Trudel and goaltender Marc Lamothe.

The 2003 Pepsi AHL All-Star Skills Competition will be held at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday. Both events are hosted by the Portland Pirates at Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine. For more information on the 2003 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic fans can visit www.theahl.com.

Corvo became the 202nd former East Coast Hockey League player to advance to the National Hockey League when he made his debut with the Los Angeles Kings on December 14 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Selected by Los Angeles in the fourth round (83rd overall) in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Corvo was scoreless in five regular season games and had an assist in four postseason games with Hampton Roads of the ECHL in 1998-99. The 25-year-old Corvo has five points (3g-2a) and is +2 in 22 games with the Kings. He began the season with Manchester and was leading AHL defensemen in scoring with 26 points (8g-18a) at the time of his call up to Los Angeles.

Tripp became the 206th ECHL player to advance to the NHL when he made his debut with the New York Rangers on January 8. The 25-year-old Tripp, who played parts of five seasons in the ECHL with Roanoke, Johnstown and Pensacola, has three points (1g-2a) in nine games with the Rangers. Selected by Colorado in the third round (77th overall) in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft and by Calgary in the second round (42nd overall) in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Tripp was leading Hartford with 21 goals at the time of his call up to New York. Playing 49 games in 2001-02, Tripp tied for the ECHL lead with five shorthand goals and was fourth on the Ice Pilots in goals (25), assists (27) and points (52). He scored 13 points (4g-9a) in 23 regular season games and six points (4g-2a) in 10 postseason games with Hartford in 2001-02. The 25-year-old Tripp scored 33 points (19g-14a) in 36 games for Pensacola in 2000-01. Tripp scored 24 points (13g-11a) in 38 games with Johnstown in 1999-2000 and had two goals in seven games with the Chiefs in 1998-99. He had two assists in nine games with Roanoke in his rookie season in 1997-98.

In his first professional season in 1996-97, Trudel scored 54 points (25g-29a) in 37 regular season games and 19 points (9g-10a) in nine postseason games with Peoria in the ECHL. Returning to Peoria in 1997-98, Trudel ranked second in the ECHL with 113 points and fourth in assists with 74 in 62 regular season games, earning First-Team All-ECHL honors at right wing as well as being named the ECHL Player of the Month for October. Trudel made his NHL debut in 1999-2000 with Phoenix and has played four games for the Coyotes.

Selected by Montreal in the fourth round (92nd overall) in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, Lamothe played 13 games for the Wheeling Thunderbirds of the ECHL in his first professional season in 1994-95, going 9-2-1 with a 3.10 goals against average and a .892 save percentage. Lamothe made his NHL debut in 1999-2000 with Chicago going 1-1-0 with a 5.17 goals against average in two games with the Blackhawks.

In his first professional season in 2001-02, Goehring was 11-9-3 with a 2.24 goals against average and a .920 save percentage in 23 regular season games with Dayton. The 24-year-old Goehring helped Dayton advance to the 2002 Kelly Cup Finals going 9-5 with a 2.43 goals against average and a .917 save percentage in 14 postseason games.

Gustafson began his professional career in 2000-01 and was 4-3 with a 2.23 goals against average and a .930 save percentage in seven regular season games with Jackson. Gustafson also made his NHL debut with Minnesota in 2000-01.

The ECHL has affiliation agreements with 21 of the 28 teams in the AHL with 82 players in the ECHL on AHL contracts and the ECHL has had 243 call ups to the AHL in 2002-03. The ECHL had 400 call ups to the 27 teams of the AHL in 2001-02, the most since a record 453 call ups to the 19 teams of the AHL and the 13 teams of the International Hockey League in 1999-2000.

There are 10 former ECHL head coaches behind the bench for AHL teams. Peter Horachek, who coached both Nashville and Trenton, is in his first season with Milwaukee while Jim Playfair, who coached Dayton and was the 1995 ECHL Coach of the Year, began the season with Saint John, his third with the Flames, before being named assistant coach in Calgary on January 3. Cleveland's Roy Sommer, who coached Roanoke Valley and Richmond, is in his fifth season as the head coach of San Jose's top affiliate. Bruce Boudreau, who led Mississippi to the 1999 Kelly Cup Championship, is in his second season as head coach with Manchester. Don Granato, who coached Columbus (Ohio) and Peoria, is in his third season with Worcester. Granato was named AHL Coach of the Year following his rookie season in 2000-01, one year after leading Peoria to the Kelly Cup Championship. Geoff Ward, who coached Arkansas, began the season as an assistant coach with Hamilton, but was named head coach on Monday after Claude Julien was hired as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. Scott Gordon, the first ECHL player to play in the NHL and later head coach of Roanoke, is an assistant coach with Providence while Nick Fotiu, who coached Nashville and Johnstown, is an assistant coach with Hartford. Mark Kumpel, who coached Nashville and Dayton, is an assistant coach with Portland and Scott Allen, who coached the past five seasons with Johnstown, is an assistant with San Antonio.

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