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Liffiton Is 300th Former ECHL Player To Play In NHL

Published on April 17, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - Former Charlotte Checkers defenseman David Liffiton became the 300th player to play in the National Hockey League after playing in the ECHL when he made his debut with the New York Rangers on Apr. 11, finishing with two penalty minutes and 17 shifts in a 3-2 loss to the New York Islanders.

Liffiton is the 44th former ECHL player to play his first NHL game in 2005-06, surpassing the record 40 players in 2003-04, and the 155th former ECHL player to make his NHL debut since 2000-01. The first ECHL player to play in the NHL was Johnstown goaltender Scott Gordon, who made his debut with the Quebec Nordiques against Buffalo on Jan. 30, 1990.

"Three hundred former ECHL players moving on to play in the NHL represents another significant milestone in the evolution of our league," said ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna. "The fact that 44 players, the equivalent of over two full NHL rosters, have made their debut this year speaks well for the job our teams and coaches are doing to prepare players for the next level."

The 21-year-old Liffiton began his professional career with Charlotte in 2004-05, playing nine games before being called up to Hartford of the American Hockey League where he had one assist in 33 games. He returned to the Checkers at the end of the regular season, finishing with two assists in 16 games, and for the Kelly Cup Playoffs, scoring five points (1g-4a) in 15 games as Charlotte advanced to the American Conference Finals. Selected in the second round (63rd overall) by Colorado in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Liffiton was acquired, along with Chris McAllister and a 2004 second-round draft choice, by the Rangers from the Avalanche in exchange for Matthew Barnaby and a 2004 third-round draft choice on Mar. 8, 2004.

Charlotte has been the ECHL affiliate of the Rangers since 1996-97 and 12 of the 21 former Checkers who have advanced to the NHL have played for New York, including goaltender Chris Holt and defenseman Thomas Pock, who played their first game in 2005-06. The ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 30 teams in the NHL and there are more than 100 players on ECHL rosters under contract to teams in the NHL.

There are two head coaches (Peter Laviolette and John Torchetti), 12 assistant coaches, 13 referees and five linesmen working in the NHL in 2005-06 who have ECHL experience.

Five goaltenders have played in both the ECHL and the NHL in 2005-06 - Chris Holt (Charlotte and New York Rangers), Mike Morrison (Greenville and Edmonton and Ottawa), Mike Dunham (Gwinnett and Atlanta), Adam Berkhoel (Gwinnett and Atlanta) and Rob McVicar (Victoria and Vancouver).

Five goaltenders in the ECHL have served as backup goaltenders for teams in the NHL this season - Chris Beckford-Tseu (Alaska and St. Louis), Maxime Daigneault (South Carolina and Washington), Mike Wall (Augusta and Anaheim), Andrew Penner (Dayton and Columbus) and Frederic Cloutier (Pensacola and New York Islanders).

Former ECHL goaltenders have won the NHL Defensive Player of the Week award seven times this season with David Aebischer, Chesapeake/Wheeling and Colorado (Jan. 9), Tomas Vokoun, Wheeling and Nashville (Dec. 5 and Mar. 20), Mike Morrison, Greenville and Edmonton (Nov. 28), Curtis Sanford, Peoria and St. Louis (Nov. 21) and Manny Legace, Richmond and Detroit (Nov. 1 and Feb. 13).

For the fifth consecutive year that the Stanley Cup was awarded in 2004, the ECHL was represented as Tampa Bay had Ruslan Fedotenko, Nolan Pratt and Andre Roy as well as radio announcer Dave Mishkin and assistant equipment manager Dana Heinze. The three players are the most ECHL representatives in a single year surpassing 2001 when David Aebischer and Pratt helped Colorado win the title.

There are nine former ECHL players whose names are on the Stanley Cup: Ruslan Fedotenko, Nolan Pratt and Andre Roy (Tampa Bay - 2004), Corey Schwab (New Jersey - 2003), Manny Legace (Detroit - 2002), David Aebischer and Nolan Pratt (Colorado - 2001), Krzysztof Oliwa (New Jersey - 2000) and Kevin Dean (New Jersey - 1995). Pratt is the only ECHL player to have his name engraved twice on the Stanley Cup.

There have been 44 players in 2005-06 who have made their first NHL appearance since playing in the ECHL:

Evgeny Artyukhin (Tampa Bay on Oct. 20)
Keith Aucoin (Carolina on Jan. 23)
Adam Berkhoel (Atlanta on Oct. 15)
Derek Boogaard (Minnesota on Oct. 5)
Alexandre Burrows (Vancouver on Jan. 2)
Kevin Colley (New York Islanders on Oct. 27)
Ryan Craig (Tampa Bay on Dec. 17)
Brian Eklund (Tampa Bay on Nov. 8)
Michael Garnett (Atlanta on Oct. 12)
Trevor Gillies (Anaheim on Nov. 6)
Jeff Giuliano (Los Angeles on Nov. 5)
Rob Globke (Florida on Dec. 28)
Mike Glumac (St. Louis on Jan. 30)
Steven Goertzen (Columbus on Oct. 21)
David Gove (Carolina on Jan. 31)
Josh Gratton (Philadelphia on Dec. 15)
Ben Guite (Boston on Jan. 30)
Adam Hauser (Los Angeles on Jan. 14)
Eric Healey (Boston on Nov. 25)
Timo Helbling (Tampa Bay on Oct. 5)
Colin Hemingway (St. Louis on Oct. 19)
Chris Holt (New York Rangers on Dec. 3)
Raitis Ivanans (Montreal on Oct. 8)
Greg Jacina (Florida on Nov. 12)
Connor James (Los Angeles on Jan. 7)
Zenon Konopka (Anaheim on Oct. 30)
David Liffiton (New York Rangers on Apr. 11)
Chad LaRose (Carolina on Dec. 6)
Jay Leach (Boston on Nov. 5)
Rob McVicar (Vancouver on Dec. 1)
Mike Morrison (Edmonton on Nov. 7)
Doug O'Brien (Tampa Bay on Jan. 29)
Michel Ouellet (Pittsburgh on Nov. 22)
George Parros (Los Angeles on Oct. 5)
Geoff Platt (Columbus on Dec. 2)
Thomas Pock (New York Rangers on Jan. 16)
Mathieu Roy (Edmonton on Feb. 12)
Nolan Schaefer (San Jose on Oct. 26)
Martin St. Pierre (Chicago on Nov. 4)
David Steckel (Washington on Dec. 31)
Grant Stevenson (San Jose on Nov. 23)
Mark Streit (Montreal on Oct. 8)
Joey Tenute (Washington on Feb. 7)
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen (Columbus on Nov. 23)


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