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Wallace, Wandell Increase ECHL Players In NHL To 380

December 11, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - Former Wheeling Nailers right wing Tim Wallace and former Idaho Steelheads center Tom Wandell played their first National Hockey League game on Wednesday, raising the number of players who have played in the NHL after the ECHL to 380.

Five former ECHL players have made their NHL debut in the last four days and there have been 11 who have played their first NHL game in the last two weeks. Wallace and Wandell join former Charlotte Checkers defenseman Corey Potter, former Florida Everblades defenseman Brett Carson and former Idaho Steelheads left wing Warren Peters, who made their debut on Sunday; former South Carolina Stingrays defenseman Sean Collins, who made his debut on Saturday; former Florida Everblades forward Kenndal McArdle and former Johnstown Chiefs and Mississippi Sea Wolves forward Radek Smolenak, who played their first game on Dec. 2; former Las Vegas Wranglers and Wheeling Nailers goaltender John Curry and former Greenville Grrrowl and Stockton Thunder center Tim Sestito, who played their first game on Nov. 27; and former Bakersfield Condors center Alexandre Bolduc and former Johnstown Chiefs center Andre Deveaux, who played their first game on Nov. 28.

The 24-year-old Wallace played for Wheeling as rookie in 2006-07 and had 17 points (6g-11a) in 19 games while also playing in the American Hockey League where he had 14 points (5g-9a) in 32 regular season games and two points (1g-1a) in 11 playoff games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Selected in the fifth round (146th overall) by Dallas in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, the 21-year-old Wandell had three points (3g-0a) and two penalty minutes in three games with Idaho in 2007-08 while also playing in the AHL where he had 19 points (10g-9a) and 16 penalty minutes in 53 games for Iowa.

The Premier 'AA' Hockey League, the ECHL has affiliations with 24 of the 30 teams in the NHL, marking the 12th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams. The Wheeling Nailers are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Idaho Steelheads are the ECHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars.

There have been 124 former ECHL players who have played their first NHL game in the last four seasons including a record 47 who made their debut in 2005-06. Seventy-two former ECHL players were on NHL opening-day rosters this season and 333 ECHL players attended NHL training camps, including 139 who played in the league last season.

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. 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 18 assistant coaches in the NHL who were players or coaches in the ECHL.

Twenty-five former ECHL players have made their NHL debut this season: former Wheeling Nailers and ECHL All-Star defenseman Paul Bissonnette (Pittsburgh on Oct. 4) , former Bakersfield Condors center Alexandre Bolduc (Vancouver on Nov. 27), former Florida Everblades defenseman Brett Carson (Carolina on Dec. 7) , former South Carolina Stingrays defenseman Sean Collins (Washington on Dec. 6), former Las Vegas Wranglers and Wheeling Nailers goaltender John Curry (Pittsburgh on Nov. 26), former Greenville Grrrowl goaltender Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers (Edmonton on Oct. 17) , former Johnstown Chiefs center Andre Deveaux (Toronto on Nov. 27), former Gwinnett Gladiators right wing Pat Dwyer former Columbus Cottonmouths and Tallahassee Tiger Sharks left wing Mitch Fritz (New York Islanders on Oct. 30), former Charlotte Checkers center Dwight Helminen (Carolina on Oct. 28), former Trenton Devils right wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (New Jersey on Oct. 22), former Charlotte Checkers defenseman Steve MacIntyre (Edmonton on Oct. 15), former Florida Everblades left wing Kenndal McArdle (Florida on Dec. 2), former Phoenix RoadRunners and Wheeling Nailers center Cam Paddock (St. Louis on Nov. 14), former Las Vegas Wranglers defenseman Adam Pardy (Calgary on Oct. 9), former Idaho Steelheads left wing Warren Peters (Calgary on Dec. 7), former Charlotte Checkers defenseman Corey Potter (New York Rangers on Dec. 7), former Gwinnett Gladiators center Jared Ross (Philadelphia on Oct. 11) , former Alaska Aces goaltender Marek Schwarz (St. Louis on Oct. 25), former Greenville Grrrowl and Stockton Thunder center Tim Sestito (Edmonton on Nov. 26), former Dayton Bombers and Las Vegas Wranglers defenseman Tyler Sloan (Washington on Oct. 21), former Johnstown Chiefs and Mississippi Sea Wolves forward Radek Smolenak (Tampa Bay on Dec. 2), former Augusta Lynx defenseman Brett Skinner (New York Islanders on Oct. 27), former Wheeling Nailers right wing Tim Wallace (Pittsburgh on Dec. 10) and former Idaho Steelheads center Tom Wandell (Dallas on Dec. 10).

The ECHL is represented for the eighth consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2008 by Aaron Downey of the Detroit Red Wings.

There are 18 former ECHL officials scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team 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.

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 22 teams playing in 16 states and British Columbia in 2008-09.
- The Reading Royals, the City of Reading and the Sovereign Center will host the 17th Annual ECHL All-Star Game on Jan. 21, 2009 and the 12th Annual All-Star Skills Competition on Jan. 20, 2009.
- The league officially changed its name from East Coast Hockey League to ECHL on May 19, 2003.
- ECHL has affiliations with 23 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League and for the past 19 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 2,000 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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