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ECHL Represented On Stanley Cup
For 8th Straight Year

June 9, 2008

PRINCETON, N.J. – For the eighth consecutive year the ECHL is represented on the Stanley Cup Champion with Aaron Downey, who played his first two professional seasons with Hampton Roads of the ECHL.

Downey is the 14th former ECHL player to be a member of the Stanley Cup winner joining Francois Beauchemin and George Parros (Anaheim – 2007), Andrew Hutchinson and Chad LaRose (Carolina – 2006), Ruslan Fedotenko, Nolan Pratt and Andre Roy (Tampa Bay – 2004), Corey Schwab (New Jersey – 2003), Manny Legace (Detroit – 2002), David Aebischer and Nolan Pratt (Colorado – 2001), Krzysztof Oliwa (New Jersey – 2000) and Kevin Dean (New Jersey – 1995). Pratt is the only ECHL player to have his name engraved twice on the Stanley Cup.

The Eastern Conference champion Pittsburgh Penguins had former ECHL goaltender Dany Sabourin as well as equipment managers Dana Heinze and Dave Zeigler and athletic trainers Chris Stewart and Scott Adams, who all worked for the Johnstown Chiefs.

In his first professional season in 1995-96, Downey scored 23 points (12g-11a) and led Hampton Roads with 354 penalty minutes in 65 regular season games. Returning to Hampton Roads in 1996-97, Downey scored 16 points (8g-8a) and led the team with 338 penalty minutes in 64 regular season games and had 26 penalty minutes and three assists in nine playoff games.

He had three assists and 116 penalty minutes in 56 regular season games for Detroit and has 16 points (7g-9a) and 487 penalty minutes in 239 career regular season games and eight penalty minutes in five career Stanley Cup Playoff games with Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Montreal and St. Louis from 1999-2008.

The ECHL was represented on all 16 teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs including more than 30 players with ECHL experience for the third straight year and over 25 players for the fifth straight time. For the fourth consecutive year the ECHL had six former coaches working in the NHL postseason including Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau, who led Mississippi to the Kelly Cup championship in 1999, and Calgary associate coach Jim Playfair, who was ECHL Coach of the Year in 1994-95.

The Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League, the ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League 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 355 players who have played in the NHL after the ECHL and 210 who have made their debut in the last seven seasons. Twenty-six former ECHL players made their NHL debut in 2007-08 including six who played in both the ECHL and NHL: Chris Beckford-Tseu (Alaska and St. Louis), Adam Berti (Pensacola and Chicago), Joe Jensen (Wheeling and Carolina), Dan LaCosta (Elmira and Columbus), Jonathan Quick (Reading and Los Angeles) and Danny Taylor (Reading and Los Angeles).

NHL opening-day rosters have had over 50 former ECHL players each of the past five years including a record 69 players in 2007-08. In each of the past seven seasons more than 100 players on NHL contracts have played in the ECHL including 139 in 2007-08.

There were 26 former ECHL players that made their NHL debut in 2007-08: former Peoria Rivermen and Alaska Aces goaltender Chris Beckford-Tseu (St. Louis on Feb. 21), former Pensacola Ice Pilots left wing Adam Berti (Chicago on Apr. 4), former Florida Everblades center David Brine (Florida on Feb. 2), former Idaho Steelheads right wing B.J. Crombeen (Dallas on Jan. 19), former Gwinnett Gladiators left wing Kevin Doell (Atlanta on Jan. 4), former Alaska defenseman Zack FitzGerald (Vancouver on Feb. 5), former Columbia left wing Alex Foster (Toronto on Mar. 18), former Fresno goaltender Thomas Greiss (San Jose on Jan. 14), former Roanoke Express and Wheeling Nailers left wing Jason Jaffray (Vancouver on Dec. 12), former Wheeling Nailers left wing Joe Jensen (Carolina on Feb. 18), former Dayton and Elmira goaltender Dan LaCosta (Columbus on Mar. 25), former Toledo Storm goaltender Drew MacIntyre (Vancouver on Dec. 13), former San Diego Gulls left wing Cody McLeod (Colorado on Dec. 19), former Alaska Aces and Pensacola Ice Pilots center Chris Minard (Pittsburgh on Jan. 21), former Columbia Inferno center Brandon Nolan (Carolina on Dec. 22), former Johnstown Chiefs and Fresno Falcons goaltender Dmitri Patzold (San Jose on Oct. 7), former Gwinnett Gladiators and Louisiana IceGators left wing Pascal Pelletier (Boston on Jan. 17), former Reading Royals goaltender Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles on Dec. 6), former Stockton Thunder left wing Liam Reddox (Edmonton on Dec. 7), former Cincinnati Cyclones left wing Greg Stewart (Montreal on Apr. 5), former Gwinnett Gladiators left wing Colin Stuart (Atlanta on Dec. 29), former Bakersfield Condors, Reading Royals, Texas Wildcatters and Wheeling Nailers goaltender Danny Taylor (Los Angeles on Mar. 29), former Columbus Chill, Richmond Renegades and Trenton Titans left wing Pete Vandermeer (Phoenix on Feb. 10), former San Diego goaltender Tyler Weiman (Colorado on Oct. 4), former Charlotte Checkers right wing Craig Weller (Phoenix on Oct. 4) and former Phoenix RoadRunners center Daniel Winnik (Phoenix Coyotes on Oct. 4).

In 2007-08 there were two NHL head coaches (Bruce Boudreau and (Peter Laviolette) and 13 NHL assistant coaches with an ECHL background.

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 that will play with 24 teams in 16 states and British Columbia in 2008-09.

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

The ECHL had 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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