
McKenna Is 392nd Player To Play In NHL After ECHL
February 4, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release
PRINCETON, N.J. - Two-time ECHL All-Star and former Las Vegas Wranglers® goaltender
Mike
McKenna became the 392nd player to play in the National
Hockey League after the ECHL when he made his debut with Tampa Bay on
Tuesday, stopping all 11 shots he faced after replacing Karri Ramo in the
second period.
"I was a little jittery, but it didn't last very long," said McKenna.
"After I faced the first shot, I was fine."
McKenna is the second former ECHL netminder in the past week to make his
debut with Tampa Bay as Riku
Helenius had two saves after replacing former ECHL All-Star Mike Smith
in the third period on Friday.
Selected in the sixth round (172nd overall) by the Nashville Predators in
the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, the 25-year-old McKenna was 27-4-7 with five
shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.21 and a save percentage of .927 in
38 games for Las Vegas in 2006-07. In addition to being named to his second
consecutive ECHL
All-Star Game, he was named Second
Team All-ECHL and finished second in voting for Goaltender
of the Year and Most
Valuable Player.
McKenna was 19-2-1 with a shutout and a goals-against average of 2.13 while
finishing fifth in the league with a save percentage of .923 in 25 regular
season games for Las Vegas as a rookie in 2005-06. He played in four games
in the Kelly Cup Playoffs going 1-1 with a goals-against average of 3.12
and a save percentage of .905. He was voted to the ECHL
All-Star Game, but was unable to play in the game after being called up
to Norfolk where he was 4-2-1 with a goals-against average of 3.86 and a
save percentage of .883 in seven games. The Premier 'AA' Hockey League, the
ECHL 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.
There have been 37 former ECHL players who have made their debut this
season and 136 have played their first NHL game 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.
Former ECHL coaches working as head coaches in the NHL are Scott
Gordon of the New York Islanders and Bruce
Boudreau of the Washington Capitals. 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.
Thirty-seven ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former
Wheeling Nailers and ECHL All-Star defenseman Paul
Bissonnette (Pittsburgh on Oct. 4), former Stockton Thunder and ECHL
All-Star right wing Troy
Bodie (Anaheim on Jan. 16), former Bakersfield Condors center Alexandre
Bolduc (Vancouver on Nov. 27), former Florida Everblades defenseman Brett
Carson (Carolina on Dec. 7), former South Carolina Stingrays defenseman
Sean
Collins (Washington on Dec. 6), former Las Vegas Wranglers and Wheeling
Nailers goaltender John
Curry (Pittsburgh on Nov. 26), former Greenville Grrrowl goaltender
Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (Edmonton on Oct. 17), former Johnstown Chiefs
center Andre
Deveaux (Toronto on Nov. 27), former Dayton Bombers center Philippe
Dupuis (Colorado on Dec. 12), former Gwinnett Gladiators left wing Chris
Durno (Colorado on Jan. 18), former Gwinnett Gladiators right wing Pat
Dwyer, former Columbus Cottonmouths and Tallahassee Tiger Sharks left
wing Mitch
Fritz (New York Islanders on Oct. 30), former South Carolina Stingrays
right wing Andrew
Gordon (Washington on Dec. 23), former Augusta Lynx and Mississippi Sea
Wolves goaltender Riku
Helenius (Tampa Bay on Jan. 30), former Charlotte Checkers center Dwight
Helminen (Carolina on Oct. 28), former Trenton Devils right wing Pierre-Luc
Letourneau-Leblond (New Jersey on Oct. 22), former Gwinnett Gladiators
defenseman Scott
Lehman (Atlanta on Dec. 18), former Charlotte Checkers defenseman Steve
MacIntyre (Edmonton on Oct. 15), former Florida Everblades left wing Kenndal
McArdle (Florida on Dec. 2), two-time All-Star and former Las Vegas
Wranglers goaltender Mike
McKenna (Tampa Bay on Feb. 3), former All-Star and Wheeling Nailers
center Kurtis
McLean (New York Islanders on Jan. 19), former Phoenix RoadRunners and
Wheeling Nailers center Cam
Paddock (St. Louis on Nov. 14), former Las Vegas Wranglers defenseman
Adam
Pardy (Calgary on Oct. 9), former Idaho Steelheads left wing Warren
Peters (Calgary on Dec. 7), former Charlotte Checkers defenseman Corey
Potter (New York Rangers on Dec. 7), former Augusta Lynx defenseman Kevin
Quick (Tampa Bay on Jan. 13), former Charlotte Checkers, Columbia
Inferno and Elmira Jackals defenseman Bryan
Rodney (Carolina on Dec. 11), former Gwinnett Gladiators center Jared
Ross (Philadelphia on Oct. 11), former Alaska Aces goaltender Marek
Schwarz (St. Louis on Oct. 25), former Greenville Grrrowl and Stockton
Thunder center Tim
Sestito (Edmonton on Nov. 26), former Dayton Bombers and Las Vegas
Wranglers defenseman Tyler
Sloan (Washington on Oct. 21), former Utah Grizzlies and ECHL All-Star
center Trevor
Smith (New York Islanders on Dec. 31), former Johnstown Chiefs and
Mississippi Sea Wolves forward Radek
Smolenak (Tampa Bay on Dec. 2), former Augusta Lynx defenseman Brett
Skinner (New York Islanders on Oct. 27), former Las Vegas Wranglers and
ECHL All-Star defenseman Tyson
Strachan (St. Louis on Dec. 18), former Wheeling Nailers right wing Tim
Wallace (Pittsburgh on Dec. 10) and former Idaho Steelheads center Tom
Wandell (Dallas on Dec. 10).
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
- Watch Games Live on B2 Networks, the "Official
Broadband Broadcast Provider" of the ECHL.
- Watch ECHL Games Around The Clock On ECHL
TV on B2CableTV.com.
- 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 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.
ECHL Stories from February 4, 2009
- Grizzlies Unbeaten Streak Hits 10; Fall 4-3 In Shootout - Utah Grizzlies
- Las Vegas Earns First Three-Game Winning Streak of the Year - Las Vegas Wranglers
- RoadRunners Edge Grizzlies 4-3 In A Shootout - Phoenix RoadRunners
- Blades push win streak to five with 4- 3 win over South Carolina - Florida Everblades
- Bombers Trump Reading 4-2 - Dayton Bombers
- Stingray's Comeback Falls Short, 4-3 to Everblades - South Carolina Stingrays
- Sea Wolves top Gwinnett, 5-3 - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Gladiators Fall 5-3 to Mississippi - Atlanta Gladiators
- Chiefs Announce Game Date Change - Johnstown Chiefs
- ECHL Transactions February 4th - ECHL
- Game Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Alaska Aces - Stockton Thunder
- Bakersfield Condors vs. Idaho Steelheads - Bakersfield Condors
- McKenna Makes NHL Debut With Tampa Bay - Las Vegas Wranglers
- Checkers Continue Community Outreach In February - Charlotte Checkers
- Looking for Old Time Hockey eh? Blades hosting "Canada Night!" - Florida Everblades
- Nailers Announce Valentine's Day Promotion - Wheeling Nailers
- Walsh Loaned To Grand Rapids; Grizzlies Host Phoenix Tonight - Utah Grizzlies
- South Carolina's Farynuk Fined - ECHL
- McKenna Is 392nd Player To Play In NHL After ECHL - ECHL
- ECHL Today - ECHL
- Nailers Announce Weekend Promotions - Wheeling Nailers
- Royals Dropped By Cincy in OT, 3-2 - Reading Royals
- Reign Conquer Roadrunners, 2-1 - Ontario Reign
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.
