Girardi Becomes 315th Player To Play In NHL After ECHL

January 27, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release

PRINCETON, N.J. - Daniel Girardi, who began his career a year ago in the ECHL with Charlotte, made his National Hockey League debut with the New York Rangers on Saturday to become the 315th player to play in the National Hockey League after playing in the ECHL.

Girardi is the 12th former ECHL player to play his first NHL game this season, joining former Greenville and Richmond right wing Krys Barch (Dallas on Jan. 15), former Reading goaltender Barry Brust (Los Angeles on Nov. 30), former Bakersfield and Reading goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji (Los Angeles on Jan. 13), former Trenton goaltender Martin Houle (Philadelphia on Dec. 13), former Alaska left wing D.J. King (St. Louis on Oct. 5), former Florida center Drew Larman (Florida on Nov. 13), former Toledo goaltender Joey MacDonald (Detroit on Oct. 19), former Pensacola center Kris Newbury (Dec. 23), former Columbia right wing Jesse Schultz (Vancouver on Nov. 28), former ECHL All-Star goaltender Mike Smith (Dallas on Oct. 21) and former Augusta goaltender Mike Wall (Anaheim on Nov. 26).

The 22-year-old Girardi scored five points (1g-4a) in the first seven games of 2005-06 with Charlotte before being called up on Nov. 12 to Hartford where he had 39 points (8g-31a) in 66 regular season games and nine points (4g-5a) in 13 games in the playoffs.

He was one of 11 former ECHL players scheduled to play in the 2007 Rbk Hockey American Hockey League All-Star Classic on Monday at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto, Ontario, but will not play as a result of his call up to the Rangers. One of four players with ECHL experience voted to start for the Canadian team, the 6-foot-2 and 200-pound Girardi has 24 points (2g-22a) in 45 games for Hartford this season.

The Premier 'AA' Hockey League, the ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League in 2006-07, marking the 10th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There were a record 47 former ECHL players who made their NHL debut in 2005-06, including five goaltenders who played a game in both leagues. Since 2000-01 there have been 170 players who have played in the NHL after the ECHL and in 2005-06 there were 112 former ECHL players who played in the NHL and all 30 teams had a former ECHL player take the ice for at least one game.

There are two NHL head coaches (Peter Laviolette and Jim Playfair) and nine NHL assistant coaches who have an ECHL background. The ECHL was represented for the sixth consecutive year on the Stanley Cup champion in 2006 by Laviolette, who is the first ECHL coach to hoist the coveted trophy, Chad LaRose, Andrew Hutchinson and assistant athletic trainer Chris Stewart.

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

The ECHL has affiliations with 24 of the 27 teams in the American Hockey League in 2006-07 and for the past 17 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup champion. The ECHL has had more players called up to the AHL than all other professional leagues combined each of the past four seasons with 1,646 call ups involving almost 1,000 players.

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 40 sellout crowds and 13 of the 22 returning teams raised their average attendance from a year ago.

In 2005-06 the ECHL and its member teams contributed more than $2.3 million for charity and relief funds, including those benefiting victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, while also making thousands of appearances by players, coaches, team personnel and mascots at schools, hospitals, libraries and charity functions.

Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

ECHL Stories from January 27, 2007

• Galbraith's Hat Trick Not Enough As Steelheads Fall In Overtime To Wranglers 5-4 - Idaho Steelheads
• Nailers Down Titans 3-2. Look to Sweep Weekend - Wheeling Nailers
• Grizz Can't Pull Off Back-to-Back Comebacks: Fall 7-2 - Utah Grizzlies
• Royals Drop Penalty-Marred Game To Toledo, 5-3 - Reading Royals
• ‘Catters Rally falls short, Lose in OT 4-3 - Texas Wildcatters
• 'Blades power past Gladiators 7-1 - Florida Everblades
• Berkhoel sets Club Record - Dayton Bombers
• Lynx down Chiefs 6-4 to extend win streak - Augusta Lynx
• Stingrays Outlast Wildcatters 4-3 In Overtime - South Carolina Stingrays
• Titans fall in shootout to Nailers, 3-2 - Trenton Devils
• Elliott's Two Goals Not Enough, Team Falters In Return Home - Johnstown Chiefs
• Gladiators Lose to Everblades 7-1 - Atlanta Gladiators
• Ice Pilots win two in a row beat Columbia 3-2 - Pensacola Ice Pilots
• Condors nest knocked down by Salmon Kings - Victoria Salmon Kings
• Wildcatters Raise $825 as Chili Cook Off is a Huge Success - Texas Wildcatters
• Victoria Salmon Kings game notes - Victoria Salmon Kings
• Girardi Becomes 315th Player To Play In NHL After ECHL - ECHL
• Ice Pilots look for back-to-back wins tonight in Columbia - Pensacola Ice Pilots
• Wright Patt Credit Union sponsors free parking tonight - Dayton Bombers
• ECHL Today - ECHL
• Aces stifle Thunder, 3-1 - Alaska Aces
• Dubnyk makes 25 saves in goaltending duel, Wood collects game-winner - Stockton Thunder
• Grizz Overcome 3-0 Deficit, Win 4-3 in Shootout - Utah Grizzlies
• Condors Five-Game Win Streak at the Nest Snapped by Salmon Kings, 4-3 - Victoria Salmon Kings
• RoadRunners Blank Falcons 3-0 - Phoenix RoadRunners

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