Kelly Cup Playoffs MVP Award Named in Honor of June M. Kelly
January 20, 2019 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release
TOLEDO, Ohio - The ECHL on Sunday announced that the League is renaming the Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player Award the "June M. Kelly Playoffs Most Valuable Player Award".
"It is my honor to be able to be a part of this naming of the award on behalf of Mrs. Kelly," said ECHL Commissioner Ryan Crelin. "Through this action, the ECHL honors all of the women who are pivotal to our game's success, and we thank and honor Mrs. Kelly for all of her efforts to help the League grow into what it has become today."
Watch video announcement
Kelly, the wife of ECHL Commissioner Emeritus Patrick J. Kelly, whom the Kelly Cup is named after, was an integral part of the ECHL behind the scenes during her husband's tenure as Commissioner from the League's inaugural season in 1988-89 through his retirement following the 1995-96 season.
During the early years of the ECHL, the Kelly tandem were the only employees of the League Office. As the administration and financial overseer of the League, June served as the backbone of the office, allowing her husband, Pat, to travel and build the League during its infancy.
Starting in June 2019, the ECHL Trophy Presentation will feature two coveted awards - the Patrick J. Kelly Cup to the League's champion, and the June M. Kelly Award for the Playoffs Most Valuable Player - linked together forever, and signifying a bond that this duo brought to the League, and highlighting the value of marriage and family cherished in the ECHL to this very day.
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