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Reddox Becomes 335th Player To Play In NHL After ECHL

December 8, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - Former Stockton Thunder left wing Liam Reddox became the 335th player to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL when he made his National Hockey League debut on Friday for the Edmonton Oilers.

He is the sixth player to play his first NHL game this season, joining former Johnstown and Fresno goaltender Dmitri Patzold (San Jose on Oct. 7), former Reading goaltender Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles on Dec. 7), former San Diego goaltender Tyler Weiman (Colorado on Oct. 4), former Charlotte right wing Craig Weller (Phoenix on Oct. 4) and former Phoenix RoadRunners center Daniel Winnik (Phoenix Coyotes on Oct. 4).

There have been 190 former ECHL players who have played their first NHL game in the past seasons. Twenty-six former ECHL players made their NHL debut in 2006-07, including two who played in both the ECHL and the NHL as goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji played for Reading and Los Angeles while defenseman Bryan Young skated for Stockton and Edmonton. Dave McKee played for Augusta and dressed for five games as the backup goaltender for Stanley Cup champion Anaheim.

Selected in the fourth round (112th overall) by Edmonton in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, the 21 year old had 26 points (8g-18a) and 49 penalty minutes in 70 regular season games and three points (2g-1a) and four penalty minutes in six Kelly Cup Playoff games for Stockton as a rookie in 2006-07.

The Premier 'AA' Hockey League, the ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the NHL, marking the 11th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. There are 15 coaches in the NHL who have ECHL experience including former Wheeling coach Peter Laviolette, who is head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, and former Mississippi coach Bruce Boudreau, who is interim head coach of the Washington Capitals. The ECHL is represented for the seventh consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2007 with Anaheim assistant coach Dave Farrish, players Francois Beauchemin and George Parros and broadcasters John Ahlers and Steve Carroll.

ECHL
The league officially changed its name to ECHL on May 19, 2003.

ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league with 25 teams playing 900 games in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08.

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League in 2007-08 and for the past 17 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup champion.

In each of the last two seasons there have been more than 225 players who have played in both the ECHL and the AHL and there were over 800 call-ups involving more than 500 players.

In the last five 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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