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Former Kelly Cup Playoffs MVP Ellis Named NHL Third Star

Published on November 19, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The National Hockey League announced that former Idaho Steelheads and current Nashville Predators goaltender Dan Ellis, Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom and Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin have been named the NHL 'Three Stars' for the week ending Nov. 16.

The Cincinnati Cyclones are the ECHL affiliate of the Predators. The Premier 'AA' Hockey League 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.

Ellis was named the Third Star after going 3-0-0 with two overtime wins, a goals-against average of 2.28 and a save percentage of .944 as the Predators concluded a season-long six-game road trip with three consecutive wins. After setting a franchise record with 54 saves in a 4-3 overtime win at San Jose on Nov. 11, Ellis made 32 stops in a 4-3 overtime win at Anaheim on Nov. 14 and closed out the week with 33 saves in a 3-1 win at Los Angeles on Nov. 15.

Selected in the second round (60th overall) by Dallas in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Ellis became the 240th player to play in the National Hockey League after playing in the ECHL when he made his debut and made 25 saves for Dallas in a 4-3 win at Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2005.

In his first professional season in 2003-04, Ellis was named the Most Valuable Player of the Kelly Cup Playoffs after leading the postseason with 13 wins and three shutouts. He was 4-1 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 1.95 and a save percentage of .933 in the Kelly Cup Finals as Idaho won the ECHL title in its inaugural season. Ellis was 13-8-1 with a goals-against average of 2.56 and a save percentage of .909 in 23 regular season games with Idaho and was selected to the 2004 ECHL All-Star Game.

There have been 368 players who have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL including 112 in the last four seasons and a record 47 players 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.

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.

Thirteen former Wheeling Nailers and ECHL All-Star defenseman Paul Bissonnette (Pittsburgh on Oct. 4) , 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 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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