ECHL Bakersfield Condors

Paul Kelly Named Coach of the Year

April 9, 2003 - ECHL (ECHL)
Bakersfield Condors News Release


Bakersfield, Calif. – The West Coast Hockey League announced today that Condors Head Coach Paul Kelly has been named the WCHL Coach of the Year, in a poll of coaches, general managers and media around the league.

Kelly, 35, is in his second season at the helm of Bakersfield, and led the club to the best season in franchise history. Along with Associate Coach Marty Raymond, the Condors team reached 41 wins and 91 points this season, breaking the old marks of 34 wins and 77 points.

Prior to joining Bakersfield, the Hamilton, Ontario native was the head coach of the Topeka Scarecrows in the Central Hockey League, where he was the recipient of that league's Coach of the Year award in 2000-01. In his seven seasons as a head coach, his career record is 256-197-49, a winning percentage of .559. A former 10th round draft choice of the Los Angeles Kings in 1986, Kelly played nine years in the American, International and Colonial Hockey Leagues.

"Any time you get recognized by your peers it's a great honor," said Kelly. "I'm a little surprised by it because there were some great candidates this season. I'd like to thank the organization and obviously the players, for all their hard work this season. And I'd like to share this award with Marty Raymond.

Kelly's work behind the bench this season has reflected on the performance of the team, which picked up awards for Top Goaltender (Kevin St. Pierre), two All-WCHL Team selections (St. Pierre, C Paul Willett) and a pair of All-Rookie Team members (D Jonas Lennartsson, C Jason Jackman). The Most Valuable Player award will be handed out on Thursday.

The Condors will host Games One and Two of the 2003 Taylor Cup Playoffs against the rival San Diego Gulls on April 11th and 12th. Both games start at 7:00pm, and doors open at 6:00pm. Everyone in attendance on Friday will receive Condors ThunderStix, and Saturday's game features a "Jersey Off Our Backs" Raffle and Auction for the team's "Go Army" warm up jerseys. Five will be raffled off throughout the night, while the rest will be auctioned off to raise funds for local children's charities. KGET-TV 17, Clear Channel Radio and the Active 20/30 Club sponsor the opening round of the playoffs.

Individual tickets can be purchased at the Centennial Garden Box Office, which opens at 10:00am Monday through Saturday, by calling Ticketmaster at 322-2525, online at ticketmaster.com or stopping by any Ticketmaster location. Season tickets and group outings may be purchased by calling 324-PUCK (7825) or by visiting the Condors office next to Centennial Garden.

Condors droppings: The Condors and KGET-TV 17 and 970AM will host a "Support the Troops" rally on the Garden Plaza on Saturday night before the playoff match against the Gulls. There will be guest speakers, patriotic songs and donations being collected by the Marine Corps League. A photo of the group will be taken for the local troops serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Phone cards are being collected as well, to send to those troops overseas. The festivities begin at 5:00pm.

Check out the Bakersfield Condors Statistics



ECHL Stories from April 9, 2003


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