ECHL announces promotions of League Staff

The ECHL announced the promotion of two members of the League staff. Rich Bello has been promoted to Vice President of Team Services after spending the previous eight seasons as the Director of Team Business Development. He is responsible for the sharing of best practices and ideas amongst all ECHL teams with a focus on fostering revenue growth through ticket planning and corporate partnership initiatives. In addition, he serves as the League liaison with team sales personnel, offering assistance, training and additional team services. Natalie Bernstein has been promoted to Director of Community and Events after serving as the League’s Office & Marketing Manager for the previous three seasons. Bernstein joined the ECHL in February 2015 as the League’s Executive/Marketing Assistant. Bernstein is responsible for assisting with League community initiatives, notably the Hockey is For Everyone and Hockey Fights Cancer movements in conjunction with the National Hockey League, as well as leading efforts on League-hosted events including the annual ECHL Hockey Summer Meetings and All-Star Classic. She is also responsible for office management as well as overseeing the production of the League’s Confidential Directory, Equipment Managers/Trainers Directory and Season Pass distribution. About the ECHL Began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 27 teams in 20 states and two Canadian provinces for its 34th season in 2021-22. There have been 698 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including 20 who made their NHL debuts in the 2020-21 season. The ECHL had affiliations with 25 of the 31 NHL teams in 2020-21, marking the 24th consecutive season that the league had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL. Further information on the ECHL is available on its website at ECHL.com as well as on Twitter and Facebook.