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2007-08 All-ECHL Second Team Announced

April 4, 2008

PRINCETON, N.J. – The ECHL on Friday announced the Second Team All-ECHL selections as determined in a vote of ECHL coaches.

2007-08 Second Team All-ECHL

F - Derek Damon, Florida Everblades (49 gp, 24g, 48a, 72 pts, +15)
F - Ash Goldie, Victoria Salmon Kings (68 gp, 40g, 42a, 82 pts, -3)
F - John McNabb, Texas Wildcatters (69 gp, 32g, 49a, 81 pts, +23)
D - Chad Starling, Cincinnati Cyclones (61 gp, 2g, 20a, 22 pts, +48)
D - Jamie Milam, Gwinnett Gladiators (70 gp, 13g, 39a, 52 pts, +22)
G - Craig Kowalski, Gwinnett Gladiators (44 gp, 29-11-2, 2.33 GAA, .923 Save Pct.)

Derek Damon of Florida is 10th in the ECHL with a team-leading 72 points on a team-high 48 assists and 24 goals in 49 games. He is tied for fifth in the league with six game-winning goals and is second on the team with 12 power-play goals. Damon is under contract to Albany of the American Hockey League and he has five points (2g-3a) and six penalty minutes in 15 games with the River Rats.

Ash Goldie of Victoria leads the ECHL with 20 power-play goals and is tied for the league lead with 40 goals. He is third in the league with 82 points in 68 games. He was voted as a starter and won the Most Valuable Player at the ECHL All-Star Game after setting the league record with six points (3g-3a) and scoring the fastest goal at the beginning of a period with a marker 22 seconds into the third. He also became the first player in 11 years to go 4-for-4 in the accuracy shooting in the skills competition, a feat that has been accomplished by a handful of players in the National Hockey League. He was also selected for the All-Star Game in 2006, but was unable to play due to injury.

John McNabb of Texas is third in the ECHL with 41 power-play points and tied for third in with 28 power-play assists. He is tied for fourth in the league with 81 points and tied for sixth with 49 assists in 69 games. McNabb was selected as a starter and served as the captain for the American Conference in the ECHL All-Star Game. He was also selected to the All-Star Game in 2000.

Chad Starling of Cincinnati has 22 points (2g-20a) in 61 games and leads the ECHL with a plus-minus rating of +48 which ties the fifth-best plus-minus in league history. Starling has been even or better in 53 games including the last 28 games in a row.

Jamie Milam of Gwinnett is tied for the ECHL lead among defensemen with 31 power-play points while he is second with 52 points in 70 games. He is tied for second among blue liners with eight power-play goals and is third with 23 power-play assists. His 39 assists rank third among defensemen while his 13 goals tie him for third. He was voted as a starter for the ECHL All-Star Game.

Craig Kowalski of Gwinnett is 29-11-2 with two shutouts, a goals-against average of 2.33 and a save percentage of .923. He leads the ECHL in wins and is fourth with a goals-against average of 2.33, a save percentage of .923 and 2,574 minutes. He was voted as a starter for the ECHL All-Star Game and has also played in the AHL where he is 2-1-0 with a shutout, a goals-against average of 2.36 and a save percentage of .906 in four games with Syracuse.

Players named to the All-ECHL Team who have gone on to play in the NHL are Mike Casselman (1991-92), Stan Drulia (1990-91), Dave Duerden (2001-02), Scott Gordon (1988-89), Jason Jaffray (2002-03 and 2003-04), Scott King (1992-93), Jan Lasak (1999-2000), Bill McDougall (1989-90), Chris Minard (2004-05), Steve Poapst (1992-93), Curtis Sanford (2000-01), Brandon Smith (1994-95), Joey Tenute (2004-05) and Jean-Guy Trudel (1997-98).

The ECHL will announce the winner of its Sportsmanship Award on Saturday.

ECHL
Celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2007-08, the ECHL is the Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League and 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 25 teams playing 900 games in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08.

The league officially changed its name to ECHL on May 19, 2003.

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the NHL in 2007-08, marking the 11th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There have been 353 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including 97 in the last three seasons. There have been 208 former ECHL players who have played their first game in the NHL in the past seven seasons.

There are 15 coaches in the NHL who have ECHL experience including former Wheeling coach Peter Laviolette, who is head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes, and former Mississippi coach Bruce Boudreau, who is head coach of the Washington Capitals.

The ECHL is represented for the seventh consecutive year on the National Hockey League championship team in 2007 with Anaheim assistant coach Dave Farrish, players Francois Beauchemin and George Parros and broadcasters John Ahlers and Steve Carroll.

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League in 2007-08 and for the past 18 years there has been an ECHL player on the Calder Cup champion.

In each of the last two seasons there have been more than 225 players who have played in both the ECHL and the AHL and there were over 800 call-ups involving more than 500 players. In the last five 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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