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Wathier Becomes 411th ECHL Player To Reach NHL

Published on October 22, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


PRINCETON, N.J. - Former Idaho Steelheads left wing Francis Wathier became the 411th player to play in the National Hockey League after the ECHL when he made his debut with the Dallas Stars in a 4-2 win at Anaheim on Wednesday.

Wathier, who got into a fight with Mike Brown at 3:02 of the second period, becomes the second Idaho player in the last week to play his first NHL game as Aaron Gagnon made his debut with the Stars last Friday against Boston.

The Steelheads are the ECHL affiliate of Dallas and the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League. In addition to Gagnon and Wathier, Matt Climie, BJ Crombeen, Dan Ellis and Tom Wandell played for the Steelheads and went on to play for Dallas.

Former ECHL coach Charlie Huddy is an assistant coach for Dallas while former ECHL goaltender Mike Valley is the Stars goaltending coach. The head coach of Texas is former Las Vegas Wranglers coach Glen Gulutzan, who was named ECHL Coach of the Year in 2005-06 and was selected to coach in the ECHL All-Star Game three times, tying the record for most appearances.

Selected in the sixth round (185th overall) by Dallas in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, the 24 year old had two points (1g-1a) and four penalty minutes in seven Kelly Cup Playoff games and 13 points (4g-9a) and 31 penalty minutes in 17 regular season games for Idaho as a rookie in 2006-07. He also played in the AHL where he had 17 points (14g-3a) and 78 penalty minutes in 57 regular season games and four assists and 25 penalty minutes in 12 playoff games for Iowa.

The ECHL had a record 78 players on NHL opening-day rosters, surpassing the 71 from a year ago and marking the seventh year in a row that there have been over 50 former ECHL players on opening-day rosters. The ECHL has affiliations with 27 of the 30 teams in the NHL, marking the 13th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There have been 411 players who have played in the NHL after playing in the ECHL including a record 52 in 2008-09. The ECHL has had 219 players reach the NHL since 2002-03 when it changed its focus to become the primary developmental league for the NHL and the AHL. The ECHL had 97 players reach the NHL in its first 10 seasons and 215 in the first 15 years. There have been 155 ECHL players who have played their first game in the last five seasons for an average of 31 per year.

ECHL players who have made their NHL debut this season are former Gwinnett Gladiators and 2006 ECHL All-Star right wing Guillaume Desbiens (Vancouver on Oct. 11), former Idaho Steelheads center Aaron Gagnon (Dallas on Oct. 16), former Johnstown Chiefs defenseman Jay Rosehill (Toronto on Oct. 1) and former Idaho Steelheads left wing Francis Wathier (Dallas on Oct. 21).

There are 26 coaches with an ECHL background working behind the benches of teams in the NHL including Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau and New York Islanders head coach Scott Gordon of the New York Islanders while former ECHL player Dan Bylsma is head coach of the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. It is the fifth consecutive season that there have been 11 or more coaches with an ECHL background working in the NHL. 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.

There are 20 former ECHL officials scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2009-10 with referees David Banfield, Francis Charron, Chris Ciamaga, Ghislain Herbert, 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, Bryan Pancich, Brian Mach, Tim Nowak and Jay Sharrers.

There were nine players who played in the ECHL and the NHL in 2008-09 with goaltenders Matt Climie (Idaho and Dallas), Riku Helenius (Elmira, Mississippi and Tampa Bay), Chris Holt (Alaska and St. Louis), 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).

The ECHL was represented for the ninth year in a row on the Stanley Cup champion 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. There were 43 former players and 14 former coaches on 15 of the 16 teams competing in the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup Playoffs, marking the fourth year in a row that there have been at least 30 former ECHL players and the sixth consecutive season that over 25 players with ECHL experience have competed in the NHL postseason.

Former ECHL and current Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas was the recipient of the Vezina Trophy as the top goaltender in the NHL and was also presented the William Jennings Trophy with teammate Manny Fernandez as the goaltenders finishing the season having surrendered the fewest goals. Thomas was also named First Team All-NHL after registering a career-high 36 wins while leading the NHL with a goals-against average of 2.10 and a save percentage of .933 to help the Bruins finish with the most wins (53) and points (116) since 1971-72.

The ECHL was represented in the 2009 NHL All-Star Game by Mark Streit of the New York Islanders and Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins while former ECHL players Dan Ellis, Jonathan Quick and Tomas Vokoun were all selected as recipients of the NHL's "Three Stars" award in 2008-09.

The first ECHL player to play in the NHL was Johnstown Chiefs goaltender and current New York Islanders head coach Scott Gordon, who played his first game with the Quebec Nordiques against Buffalo on Jan. 30, 1990. The 100th player honor is shared by Jean Sebastien Aubin and Manny Legace, who both made their debut on Oct. 21, 1998 with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. The 200th player was Brett McLean with the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 10, 2002 while the 300th was David Liffiton with the New York Rangers on Apr. 11, 2006 and the 400th was Phil Oreskovic on Mar. 9, 2009 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Former ECHL broadcasters working in the National Hockey League 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, Dave Mishkin of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Bob McElligott and John Michael of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Rob Simpson, who is a producer/host for The NHL Network.

Ryan Stanzel and Jeremy Zager, who were both recipients of the ECHL Media Relations Director of the Year award, are working in the communications department for the Minnesota Wild and the Los Angeles Kings, respectively. Former ECHL assistant director of communications Joe Siville and Kelly Murray are now with the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals, respectively, while former ECHL director of communications Jason Rothwell is the creative director for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Premier 'AA' Hockey League Fast Facts
- Watch games live on B2 Networks, the "Official Broadband Broadcast Provider" of the ECHL.
- Watch ECHL games around the clock on ECHL TV on B2CableTV.com.
- 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 has affiliations with 25 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 and in 2008-09 there were 10 times as many call-ups from the ECHL to the AHL than all other professional leagues.
- Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

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