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Television Broadcasters Named for ECHL All-Star Classic

January 7, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. ‚¬" The ECHL announced that the television broadcast crew for the 2011 ECHL All-Star Classic presented by CCM and brought to you by Mercy & Memorial Hospitals will be Kevin Bartl of the Bakersfield Condors, veteran NHL analyst Neil Smith and Adrian Denny of the Utah Grizzlies.

The game will be available live across the country on America One. Additional television outlets that will broadcast the game will be announced in the coming weeks.

Bartl will be the play-by-play announcer with Smith doing color commentary for the tenth year in a row and Denny working at ice level interviewing players, coaches and representatives from the ECHL and the National Hockey League.

The 2011 ECHL All-Star Classic presented by CCM and brought to you by Mercy & Memorial Hospitals will be hosted by the Bakersfield Condors at Rabobank Arena and played on Jan. 26. This year ‚¬â„¢s format features the host team taking on a team of ECHL All-Stars.

Smith, who is the President, General Manager and Governor of the Greenville Road Warriors, brings years of broadcast experience to the telecast. He works as an analyst for the NHL Network, NHL Radio, Hockey Night in Canada Radio and Versus Network and has also worked on TSN and ESPN. He was general manager of the New York Rangers from 1989-2000 and in 1992 was promoted to president, becoming the first person in team history to hold both the title of general manager and president. During his tenure, which is the second-longest in team history to only the legendary Lester Patrick, the Rangers captured three division titles, two Presidents' Trophy honors, an Eastern Conference championship and a Stanley Cup championship. The championship in 1993-94 was the culmination of a season in which the Rangers set club records with 52 wins and 112 points and ended a 54-year run of Stanley Cup frustration. Following the 1991-92 and 1993-94 seasons, Smith was named Executive of the Year by The Hockey News and The Sporting News.

Bartl is in his eighth season with the Condors in his second stint with the team, and serves as the Condors primary radio and television broadcaster, while also overseeing the communications department. The Rochester, N.Y. native first served as Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations with the Condors from 2001-2005. He then spent two seasons in the American Hockey League with Lowell as Director of Media and Team Services prior to returning to Bakersfield. From 1999-2001, Bartl worked for the United Hockey League ‚¬â„¢s Rockford IceHogs, and also served terms with the Rochester Americans (AHL) and the Batavia Muckdogs (NY-Penn League baseball). He was named Broadcaster of the Year twice ‚¬" in 2000-01 with Rockford and in 2002-03 with the Condors in the West Coast Hockey League. Bartl graduated from the State University of New York at Brockport with a degree in Communications.

Denny, 28, is in his sixth season as the Grizzlies play-by-play announcer and is in his eighth season as a member of the Grizzlies Radio broadcast team. He has broadcasted over 400 consecutive games for the Grizzlies since he took over play-by-play at the start of the 2005-2006 season. The University of Utah graduate, who also serves as the Grizzlies Vice President of Communications and Broadcasting, was the driving force as the team returned to the sports radio format at the start of the 2009-10 season when a broadcast agreement was announced with 1320 KFAN and 1230 KFAN-2. In addition to the broadcasting department, Denny also oversees public relations, marketing/advertising, utahgrizzlies.com and assists Head Coach Kevin Colley in hockey operations.

Former ECHL broadcasters working in the NHL include John Ahlers and Steve Carroll of the Anaheim Ducks, Tom Callahan of the Nashville Predators, Dave Goucher of the Boston Bruins, Chris Kerber of the St. Louis Blues, Jack Michaels of the Edmonton Oilers, Dave Mishkin of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Bob McElligott and John Michael of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Nine coaches from the ECHL All-Star Game have gone on to coach in the National Hockey League while 53 players from the contest have gone on to play in the NHL, including 37 since 2002 when the lineups began having players who coaches felt were prospects to move up to a higher level.

The fourth class will be inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame on Jan. 26, 2011 during a luncheon ceremony presented by BFL Canada and the Bakersfield Convention & Visitors Bureau at the Marriott Bakersfield Hotel, the official host hotel of the 2011 ECHL All-Star Classic.

Tickets for the luncheon are $40 each or a table with seven tickets can be purchased for $250. Fans can purchase tickets by downloading the Luncheon Ticket Order Form or by calling the Condors Office at (661) 324-7825.

The ECHL All-Star Fan Fest presented by Bank of the Sierra, will be held at the Marriott Bakersfield Hotel on Tuesday, Jan. 25 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. Tickets for the Fan Fest can be purchased by calling the Condors at (661) 324-7825.

The past eight ECHL All-Star Games have generated more than $1 million each for the local economy as guests, players, coaches and fans occupy hundreds of hotel rooms and spend three days in the host city.

The game has been available live on the NHL Network the last eight years as well as being broadcast on multiple regional networks. The audio broadcast has been carried on XM Satellite Radio as well as being available in all ECHL markets.

The Stanley Cup and the Patrick J. Kelly Cup will both be on display throughout the event, marking the 11th time in the last 12 years that the NHL championship trophy and the ECHL championship trophy have been displayed together at the All-Star Game.

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