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Nashville Hires
Former ECHL Broadcaster Callahan



NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League announced that former Augusta Lynx broadcaster Tom Callahan will join the Predators broadcasting team.

The Kelly Cup champion Cincinnati Cyclones are the ECHL affiliate of the Predators.

Callahan will contribute on all Nashville radio broadcasts while also serving as a voice and face for the organization in the community. He will be the play-by-play broadcaster on the Predators radio network for games aired on FSN South while working as a rink-side reporter on other games.

“This is a fantastic opportunity in a dynamic market, and I know that my experience in Augusta and the ECHL played a large role in my heading to Nashville,” said Callahan. “Working in a non-traditional hockey market and being able to wear many hats for the Lynx really helped me accrue quality experience that will translate well in the NHL.”

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, Rob Simpson, who is a producer/host for The NHL Network.

The native of Lackawanna, N.Y. was a member of the audio broadcast team for the 2005 ECHL All-Star Game and is the longest-tenured broadcaster in Augusta history having broadcast all 292 of the team’s games from 2003-07.

Callahan was the director of broadcasting and media relations for the Peoria Rivermen of the American Hockey League in 2007-08 and was the play-by-play voice for the Elmira Jackals for three seasons when the team competed as a member of the United Hockey League.

ECHL
Watch games live on B2 Networks, the “Official Broadband Broadcast Provider” of the ECHL.

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 23 teams playing 828 games 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 to ECHL on May 19, 2003.

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the NHL, marking the 12th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.

There have been 355 former ECHL players who have gone on to play in the NHL after playing in the ECHL, including a record 47 in 2005-06 and 26 in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

Former ECHL coaches working as head coaches in the NHL are Bruce Boudreau of the Washington Capitals, Scott Gordon of the New York Islanders and Peter Laviolette of the Carolina Hurricanes. 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. Laviolette, who began his coaching career with the Wheeling Nailers, led Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006. There are 15 assistant coaches in the NHL who were players or coaches in the ECHL.

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, Mike Leggo, Wes McCauley, Dean Morton, Dan O’Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Justin St. Pierre, Ian Walsh and Dean Warren and linesmen Steve Barton, Brian Mach, Tim Nowak and Jay Sharrers. Barton, Leggo, McCauley, Nowak, Pollock, Rooney and Sharrers all worked the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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.

The ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 29 teams in the American Hockey League in 2007-08 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 2,300 call ups involving more than 1,200 players. In each of the last three seasons there have been over 225 players who have played in both the ECHL and the AHL in the same season.

Further information on the ECHL is available from its website at ECHL.com.

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