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Southern Conference All-Stars Named

December 19, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. – The East Coast Hockey League on Thursday announced the Southern Conference starting lineup and roster for the 2003 Compuware/ECHL All-Star Game.

The 2003 Compuware/ECHL All-Star Game will be played at 7:30 p.m. ET on January 21. The game and the skills competition on January 20 will be hosted by the Florida Everblades at TECO Arena in Estero, Florida.

The starting lineups were determined in voting by Southern Conference coaches, team captains, media relations directors, team broadcasters and newspaper writers. Coaches also submitted the top prospects from within their conference that determined the final roster with each of the 13 teams in the Southern Conference represented.

2003 Compuware/ECHL All-Star Game Southern Conference Starters

Goaltender – Rob Zepp, Florida Everblades

Defense – Kevin Mitchell, Louisiana IceGators

Defense – Jim Baxter, Mississippi Sea Wolves

Forward – Rejean Stringer, Columbia Inferno

Forward – Buddy Smith, Arkansas RiverBlades

Forward – Steffon Walby, Mississippi Sea Wolves

Under contract to Carolina of the National Hockey League, Florida's Rob Zepp is currently recalled to Lowell of the American Hockey League. The 21-year-old leads the ECHL with a 1.78 goals against average and ranks second with a .943 save percentage. Selected in the fourth round (110th overall) by Carolina in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Zepp was the ECHL Goalie of the Month for November after going 6-2-2 with a 1.48 goals against average and a .952 save percentage. Also representing the host Everblades will be Marty Johnston, who is also currently with Lowell of the AHL. Under contract to Lowell, the 24-year-old Johnston is tied for fifth among ECHL rookies with 16 assists and is tied for ninth in scoring with 23 points.

Mississippi's Jim Baxter, Steffon Walby and Kent Davyduke are each making their first appearance. Selected in the seventh round (180th overall) by Boston in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft and in the seventh round (202nd) overall by Carolina in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, the 23-year-old Baxter leads ECHL defensemen with 34 points, ranks second with 26 assists, and is tied for second with eight goals. Walby leads the ECHL with six game-winning goals, is tied for the lead with four shorthand goals, and is tied for 16th in scoring with 32 points (13g-19a) in 20 games. Acquired in a trade with Trenton, the 23-year-old Davyduke has six points (3g-3a) in five games with Mississippi and ranks fifth among ECHL rookies with 26 points and is tied for fifth with 16 assists.

Making his second consecutive All-Star appearance and his first as a starter, Louisiana's Kevin Mitchell is currently on loan to Bridgeport of the AHL. Selected by Calgary in the ninth round (234th overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, the 22-year-old leads ECHL defensemen with 27 assists while ranking second in scoring with 32 points in 29 games.

Columbia's Rejean Stringer, Corey Hessler and Justin Morrison are each making their first appearance. In his second season with the Inferno, Stringer is tied for seventh in the ECHL in scoring with 38 points (16g-22a). In his first professional season, Hessler is tied for the lead among rookies with seven power-play goals. He ranks second among ECHL defensemen in power-play goals and is tied for second in goals with eight. Under contract to Vancouver of the NHL, the 23-year-old Morrison is tied for ninth in the ECHL in scoring with 37 points (16g-21a). He was selected by the Canucks in the third round (81st overall) in the 1998 NHL Draft.

Arkansas' Buddy Smith is making his second All-Star appearance, having represented the Southern Conference in 2000 at Greenville, S.C.. Smith is tied for fourth in the ECHL in scoring with 41 points (16g-25a).

It will be the second All-Star appearance for South Carolina's Matt Desrosiers and the first for teammate Aaron Schneekloth. The 23-year-old Desrosiers, who represented the Northern Conference in 2002, leads ECHL defensemen with three game-winning goals, is tied for fifth with seven goals and is tied for 14th with 17 points. In his first full professional season, the 24-year-old Schneekloth has 21 points (6g-15a) tying him for seventh among ECHL defensemen and tying him for 13th among ECHL rookies.

Pee Dee's Matt Underhill and Mike Glumac are both in their first professional season. Selected by Calgary in the sixth round (170th overall) in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, the 23-year-old Underhill is 7-5-2 and ranks second in the ECHL with a 2.32 goals against average and fifth with a .928 save percentage. The 22-year-old Glumac leads the ECHL in plus-minus with +27 and is tied for second with four game-winning goals. He leads ECHL rookies in game-winning goals and plus-minus while ranking second with 18 goals and 30 points.

Both under contract to Edmonton of the NHL, Columbus' Mike Bishai and J.J. Hunter are each making their first All-Star appearance. In his first full professional season, the 23-year-old Bishai is tied for ninth in scoring among ECHL rookies with 23 points (9g-14a) while Hunter has 20 points (5g-15a).

Under contract to Chicago of the AHL and in his first professional season, Greenville's Judd Medak ranks fourth among ECHL rookies with 27 points and is tied for fifth with 11 goals. The 23-year-old set a team record for assists on Saturday, assisting on all five goals in the Grrrowl's 5-4 overtime win against Florida.

Under contract to Springfield of the AHL, Augusta's Patrick Yetman is making his second All-Star appearance, registering one assist in the Southern Conference's 7-6 win at Trenton, N.J. in 2002. The 22-year-old Yetman has two shorthand goals and 17 points (7g-10a).

Selected by Edmonton in the third round (81st overall) in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Jackson's Adam Hauser is in his first professional season. He is 8-6-1, tied for the ECHL lead with two shutouts, tied for second with three shootout wins, and ranks 13th with a 2.83 goals against average.

Making his first All-Star appearance is Pensacola's Ryan O'Keefe, who has 10 points (1g-9a) in 26 games. Also making his first appearance is Baton Rouge's Joe Guenther. The 21-year-old has 17 points (6g-11a) in 15 games, including 13 points (6g-7a) in 11 games with the Kingfish.

Arkansas' Chris Cichocki and Florida's Gerry Fleming are the coaches for the Southern Conference while Atlantic City's Mike Haviland and Toledo's Claude Noel are the coaches for the Northern Conference.

Cincinnati equipment manager Mark Mills and Peoria athletic trainer Greg Eberle were chosen to represent the Northern Conference and Pee Dee equipment manager Damion Parmelee and Columbia athletic trainer Dave Zeis were selected to represent the Southern Conference. Florida athletic trainer Todd Wisocki, who worked the 2002 ECHL All-Star Game, and Florida equipment manager John Jennings were also chosen to work the game.

For tickets to the 2003 Compuware/ECHL All-Star Game, telephone (239) 948-7825 or log on to www.ticketmaster.com.

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