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Jaffray Becomes 336th Player To Play In NHL After ECHL

Published on December 13, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - Two-time ECHL All-Star Game starter and 2003 ECHL Rookie of the Year Jason Jaffray became the 336th player to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL when he made his National Hockey League debut with the Vancouver Canucks in a 3-2 win at defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim on Wednesday.

The former Roanoke and Wheeling left wing scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at 4:54 of the second period after registering his first NHL point with an assist on a first-period goal by Mason Raymond, who was also playing his first NHL game.

"It was a great feeling to see the look on Mason's face when he got his first one out of the way," said Jaffray. "And when that puck went in for me, I could have jumped five, six feet in the air. It's definitely a moment I'll always remember.

"That far exceeds my expectations, to get regular shifts with Taylor Pyatt and Mason Raymond and also get a chance to play on the power play," he added. "It couldn't have happened any better for me, to get a goal and an assist. It seemed like all the waiting was definitely worth it."

He is the seventh former ECHL player to play his first NHL game this season, joining former Johnstown Chiefs and Fresno Falcons goaltender Dmitri Patzold (San Jose on Oct. 7), former Reading Royals goaltender Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles on Dec. 6), former Stockton left wing Liam Reddox (Edmonton on Dec. 7), former San Diego goaltender Tyler Weiman (Colorado on Oct. 4), former Charlotte right wing Craig Weller (Phoenix on Oct. 4) and former Phoenix RoadRunners center Daniel Winnik (Phoenix Coyotes on Oct. 4).

The 26 year old was voted to the starting lineup for the 2003 ECHL All-Star Game and the 2004 ECHL All-Star Game.

In his first professional season in 2002-03, Jaffray was named First Team All-ECHL and to the ECHL All-Rookie Team while also being voted ECHL Rookie of the Year after scoring 85 points (34g-51a) in 64 games with Roanoke.

In 2003-04, Jaffray was named Second Team All-ECHL while finishing third in voting for Most Valuable Player. He finished third in the league with 37 goals and 74 points in 54 games with Wheeling while registering an assist in five games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.

Jaffray played in the ECHL each of his first three professional seasons and had 171 points (77g-94a) and 192 penalty minutes in 141 regular season games and five points (1g-4a) and six penalty minutes in six Kelly Cup Playoff games for Roanoke and Wheeling from 2002-05.

There have been 191 former ECHL players who have played their first NHL game in the past seasons. Twenty-six former ECHL players made their NHL debut in 2006-07, including two who played in both the ECHL and the NHL as goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji played for Reading and Los Angeles while defenseman Bryan Young skated for Stockton and Edmonton. Dave McKee played for Augusta and dressed for five games as the backup goaltender for Stanley Cup champion Anaheim.

The Premier 'AA' Hockey League, the ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the NHL, marking the 11th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. There are 15 coaches in the NHL who have ECHL experience including former Wheeling coach Peter Laviolette, who is head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, and former Mississippi coach Bruce Boudreau, who is interim head coach of the Washington Capitals. The ECHL is represented for the seventh consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2007 with Anaheim assistant coach Dave Farrish, players Francois Beauchemin and George Parros and broadcasters John Ahlers and Steve Carroll.

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

ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league with 25 teams playing 900 games in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08.

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League in 2007-08 and for the past 17 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup champion.

In each of the last two seasons there have been more than 225 players who have played in both the ECHL and the AHL and there were over 800 call-ups involving more than 500 players.

In the last five 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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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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