Sports stats



ECHL ECHL

South Carolina's Heller Named Broadcaster Of Year

June 26, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - The ECHL announced that Josh Heller of the South Carolina Stingrays is the 2008-09 recipient of the ECHL Broadcaster of the Year award as determined in voting by league media relations directors and broadcasters.

Heller completed his second season as the "Voice of the Stingrays" in 2008-09, joining the team after working in minor league baseball as the assistant director of broadcasting for Pensacola. Heller was the sports director at WRBB Radio in Boston from 2004-07 where his duties included broadcasting the Northeastern University men's hockey games. He received his bachelor's degree in communication studies from Northeastern University.

ECHL Broadcaster Award Winners

Year Recipient Team
2008-09 Josh Heller South Carolina Stingrays
2007-08 Joe Babik Fresno Falcons
Brendan Burke Wheeling Nailers
2006-07 Joe O'Donnell Idaho Steelheads
Kevin Reiter Florida Everblades
2005-06 Dan Weiss Phoenix RoadRunners
2004-05 John Michael Johnstown Chiefs
2003-04 Jack Michaels Alaska Aces
2002-03 Darren Abbott South Carolina Stingrays
2001-02 Joe Zydlo Trenton Titans

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 20 teams in 15 states and British Columbia in 2009-10.
- The league officially changed its name from East Coast Hockey League to ECHL on May 19, 2003.
- ECHL had affiliations with 24 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League in 2008-09 marking the 12th consecutive year for affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.
- 407 former ECHL players have played in NHL.
- 151 former ECHL players have played their first NHL game in the last four seasons.
- Record 52 former ECHL players made their NHL debut in 2008-09 and eight players played in both the ECHL and the NHL: goaltenders Matt Climie (Idaho and Dallas), Riku Helenius (Elmira, Mississippi and Tampa Bay), Michal Neuvirth (South Carolina and Washington) and Marek Schwarz (Alaska and St. Louis), defensemen Wes O'Neill (Johnstown and Colorado), Raymond Macias (Johnstown and Colorado) and Kevin Quick (Augusta, Elmira and Tampa Bay) and right wing Joel Rechlicz (Utah and New York Islanders).
- There were 72 former ECHL players on NHL opening-day rosters.
- ECHL has been represented on last nine Stanley Cup champions including 2009 with Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma, player Ruslan Fedotenko, equipment managers Dana Heinze and Dave Zeigler, athletic trainers Chris Stewart and Scott Adams and scout Derek Clancey.
- Former ECHL coaches working as head coaches in the NHL are Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals and Scott Gordon of the New York Islanders while former ECHL player Dan Bylsma is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. 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 15 assistant coaches in the NHL who were players or coaches in the ECHL.
- Eighteen former ECHL officials worked in the NHL 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.
- ECHL has affiliations with 23 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League and for the past 20 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 2,500 call-ups involving more than 1,300 players since 2002-03.
- Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

Check out the ECHL Statistics



ECHL Stories from June 26, 2009


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.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central