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MacDonald Named MeiGray ECHL Alumnus Of The Month

December 11, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - Joey MacDonald of the New York Islanders is the MeiGray Group ECHL Alumnus of the Month for November.

The leading distributor of game-worn hockey jerseys and "Official Game-Worn Jersey Source of the ECHL," MeiGray has sold almost 5,000 game-worn ECHL jerseys since the program began in 2002-03, including nearly 1,000 each of the past four seasons.

MacDonald, who entered the 2008-09 season with 17 career NHL appearances with Detroit, Boston and the Islanders over a seven-year career, made 14 consecutive starts from Nov. 3-29 as Rick DiPietro has been sidelined by a knee injury. He was 8-5-1 with a goals-against average of 2.64 and a save percentage of .916 while leading NHL goaltenders in games (14), minutes (842) and shots faced (439).

The 28 year old began his professional career in the ECHL in 2001-02 and was 12-15-7 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 2.88 and a save percentage of .922 in 38 games with the Storm. He returned to Toledo on a rehabilitation assignment in 2005-06 and in his only appearance made 25 saves in a 4-1 win against Trenton on Nov. 12, 2005.

Twenty-five former ECHL players have played their first NHL game this season and there have been 124 former ECHL players who have made their NHL debut in the last four seasons, including a record 47 who made their debut 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.

The Premier 'AA' Hockey League has affiliations with 24 of the 30 teams in the NHL, marking the 12th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams. The head coach of the Islanders is former ECHL player and coach Scott Gordon while former ECHL player Daniel Lacroix is an assistant coach for the Islanders.

Former ECHL coaches working as head coaches in the NHL are Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals and Gordon of the Islanders. 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. Peter 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.

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 22 teams playing 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 23 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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