Formed in 1988-89 with five teams in three states, the ECHL opens its 15th Anniversary season on Friday, October 11 with 27 teams in 14 states.
The ECHL has seen 191 players advance to the NHL along with coaches, officials and front office personnel.
There were 82 former ECHL players that played in the NHL in 2001-02 and 25 of the 30 NHL teams developed players with ECHL affiliates.
Defending Champs - The Greenville Grrrowl 2002 Kelly Cup Champions
Impact Change - The schedule does not include New Orleans, which for financial reasons, was granted its request for a voluntary suspension for the 2002-03 season.
The ECHL opens up their newest market in Lexington, Kentucky. Playing its first game in the 21,300-seat Rupp Arena, the team will be named the Men O’ War.
The league will also welcome two new markets in 2003-04, with the addition of Gwinnett County, Georgia and Southeast (Beaumont) Texas.
Knocking On The Door
Players With Potential To Play At Next LevelAs a rookie last season, Louisiana goaltender Frederic Cloutier took home plenty of hardware.
He was named the ECHL Most Valuable Player, Goaltender of the Year, and Rookie of the Year; as well as been named to the First-Team All-ECHL, the ECHL All-Rookie Team, and started the All-Star Game.
The 20-year-old Cloutier was 28-5-3 with seven shutouts, and broke two ECHL records, with a 1.84 goals against average, and a save percentage of .945.
He led the IceGators to a league best record of 56-12-4 in the regular season, and definitely has the tools to take him to the next level.
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Division and League Previews:
AAA: AHL | AA: CHL,
ECHL, WCHL
| A: ACHL
