Ouellet Named MeiGray Group ECHL Alumnus Of The Month

Published on February 2, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release

PRINCETON, N.J. - Former Wheeling Nailers and current Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Michel Ouellet is the MeiGray Group ECHL Alumnus of the Month for January.

The 24-year-old scored 12 points (3g-9a) in 13 games, including two power-play goals and a game-winning goal. He scored the game-winning goal and had two points in a 3-0 win against Florida on Jan. 30 and had a career-high three assists and tied his career best with three points in a 5-3 win at Philadelphia on Jan. 13. He is tied for third on the Penguins with seven power-play goals and is fourth with two game-winning goals while his 10 goals are fifth and his 29 points are sixth.

Selected in the fourth round (124th overall) by Pittsburgh in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Ouellet began his professional career with Wheeling in 2002-03 scoring 46 points (20g-26a) in 55 games and leading the Nailers with seven power-play goals while also registering two assists in four games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the American Hockey League.

The 6-foot and 203-pound Ouellet became the 277th player to play in the National Hockey League after playing in the ECHL when he made his debut on Nov. 22, 2005 in Pittsburgh's 5-4 win over the Washington Capitals. He finished his rookie season with 32 points (16g-16a) and 11 power-play goals in 50 games with the Penguins.

He was selected to the AHL All-Star Game in 2005 and 2006, scoring 63 points (31g-32a) in 80 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2004-05 and 30 points (10g-20a) in 19 games in 2005-06. Ouellet was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team in 2003-04 after scoring 49 points (30g-19a) in 79 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The ECHL is the top developmental league for both the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League. It has affiliations with 25 of the 30 teams in the NHL, marking the 10th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL, and with 24 of the 27 teams in the AHL. There have been 315 former ECHL players who have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including 170 since 2000-01.

There have been 91 former ECHL players who have played in the NHL this season and more than 100 players under contract to an NHL team have played in the ECHL this year. There were a record 47 former ECHL players who made their NHL debut in 2005-06, including five goaltenders who played a game in both leagues. In 2005-06 there were 112 former ECHL players who played in the NHL and all 30 teams had a former ECHL player take the ice.

The leading distributor of game-worn hockey jerseys and "Official Game-Worn Jersey Source of the ECHL," MeiGray Group has sold nearly 3,500 game-worn ECHL jerseys since the program began in 2002-03, including almost 1,000 each of the past three seasons.

ECHL Stories from February 2, 2007

• Wranglers fall to Storm 1-0 in shootout - Las Vegas Wranglers
• Third Period Ruins Nailers Comeback - Wheeling Nailers
• Seven and Counting For Toledo - Toledo Walleye
• Late Goal Not Enough As Steelheads Lose To Salmon Kings 3-1 - Idaho Steelheads
• Grizzlies Beat Phoenix 5-2 - Utah Grizzlies
• Grizzlies Slow Down RoadRunners 5-2 - Phoenix RoadRunners
• Long Beach Wins Barnburner over 'Catters 6-5 in OT - Texas Wildcatters
• Ice Pilots fall to Inferno 6-2 as streak comes to an end - Pensacola Ice Pilots
• Royals Dropped In Overtime By Chiefs, 3-2 - Reading Royals
• Bombers Pound Nailers 6-3 - Dayton Bombers
• Aces euchre Lynx - Augusta Lynx
• Gladiators Slay Stingrays 6-2 - South Carolina Stingrays
• Gladiators Muscle Past Stingrays, 6-2 - Atlanta Gladiators
• 'Blades fall to Checkers 3-2 - Florida Everblades
• Late surge by Cyclones downs Titans, 4-1 - Trenton Devils
• Chiefs work overtime to beat Royals, 3-2 - Johnstown Chiefs
• Cyclones Beat Trenton, 4-1 - Cincinnati Cyclones
• Two Titans receive call to AHL as roster gets shuffled - Trenton Devils
• Victoria Salmon Kings game notes - Victoria Salmon Kings
• RoadRunners Sign Former NHL Defenseman Jeff MacMillan - Phoenix RoadRunners
• ECHL Transactions - ECHL
• Yutaka Fukufuji Re-Assigned To Reading From Los Angeles - Reading Royals
• Lynx add toughness up front with Gillies, Ferguson - Augusta Lynx
• Manitoba's Keefe to make first appearance in Victoria - Victoria Salmon Kings
• Cyclones Sign Nick Martens - Cincinnati Cyclones
• Ouellet Named MeiGray Group ECHL Alumnus Of The Month - ECHL
• Tardif Back To Grand Rapids - Toledo Walleye
• ECHL Today - ECHL
• Alaska's Schmidt Named HOK Sport Plus Performer Of The Month - ECHL
• Bombers spend more time in the community - Dayton Bombers
• Pink at the Rink puck drops tomorrow - Fresno Falcons

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