2009–10 ECHL season


The 2009–10 ECHL season was the 22nd season of the ECHL. It ran from October, 2009 until April, 2010, followed by the Kelly Cup playoffs which lasted until May 21, 2010 as the Cincinnati Cyclones won their second Kelly Cup championship in three years by defeating the Idaho Steelheads in five games. The league welcomed two franchises to the league for the 2009–10 season with the return of the Toledo Storm as the Toledo Walleye, who will play in the Lucas County Arena in Toledo, Ohio, after a two-year suspension of the franchise to allow for the construction of their new arena, and the admission of the Kalamazoo Wings as an expansion franchise who will play in Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The ECHL held its annual All-Star Game and Skills Challenge on January 19–20 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, home of the Ontario Reign.

League business

Team changes

Departures

Following the league's Mid-Season Board of Governors Meeting on March 27, 2009, the league announced that two teams had been granted one-year extensions to voluntary suspensions because of arena issues, two teams would suspend operations for the season and that one team would cease operations following the conclusion of the 2008–09 ECHL season.
The current economic crisis has forced the ECHL to allow one-year extensions on voluntary suspensions for two teams in South Carolina, one in Columbia and one in Myrtle Beach. Both franchises await approvals for their new arenas in Irmo and Conway, respectively, as neither arena has begun construction.
The Dayton Bombers and the Mississippi Sea Wolves announced that they would be suspending operations for the 2009–10 season and must present new business plans to the league in June 2009. Dayton owner Costa Papista cited declining support as the reason for the team being forced to suspend operations. Dayton averaged 3,679 fans per home game in 2008–09, but the Bombers would consistently fall short of the league's average attendance each year. Papista stated that it is hard to sell hockey at the Bombers primary arena, the Nutter Center on the campus of Wright State University in Fairborn as the seating capacity is upwards of 9,500 and has proposed building a $30 million, 5,500-seat arena in downtown Dayton that would house professional hockey in Dayton. The proposal is being explored by the Greater Downtown Dayton Plan. The suspension ends Dayton's run of 18 seasons in the ECHL, the second longest to league founder Johnstown Chiefs' 21-year run. With a team in Cincinnati and the return of a team to Toledo, ECHL Commissioner Brian McKenna has said that he would like to see Dayton return to the league, stating "We very much would like to back in Dayton and, hopefully, some day we will be." However, Two Fort Wayne, Indiana-based businessmen gained approval from the International Hockey League to revive the Dayton Gems franchise. With the new IHL franchise in place and a failed drive for season tickets and managing partnership to resume play for the 2010-11 season, the Bombers owners relinquished their team's membership in the ECHL at the Annual Board of Governors' Meeting in Las Vegas in June 2009.
Mississippi owner Mike Rogers and team president Bill Yates also announced that their team would suspend operations due to economic troubles that included travel expenses and low ticket sales. Mississippi became the latest team on the Interstate 10 corridor to cease operations which over the years has included the Baton Rouge Kingfish, Louisiana IceGators, Mobile Mysticks and Pensacola Ice Pilots. Team president Bill Yates stated that the team still intends to continue operations in the ECHL, including possibly playing in 2010–11, but may move the team to a new city or a different league, most notably the Central Hockey League It was announced in May 2009 that Biloxi and Pensacola are expected to receive Southern Professional Hockey League franchises for the 2009–10 seasons. The SPHL announced also Lafayette, Louisiana will also move to the SPHL With the new SPHL franchise in place, the Sea Wolves former owners relinquished their team's membership in the ECHL at the Annual Board of Governors' Meeting.
The Phoenix RoadRunners told the Board of Governors that the team would not participate in the 2009–10 season and would cease operations effective immediately following the 2008–09 season. At the Annual Board of Governors' Meeting, Phoenix officially relinquished their membership in the ECHL.
After sitting out from the league for four seasons on voluntary suspension, the potential Myrtle Beach, South Carolina franchise relinquished their franchise's membership in the league at the Annual Board of Governors' Meeting.

Additions

Following their two-year voluntary suspension due to construction of a new arena, the Toledo Walleye will return to the ECHL and compete at the Lucas County Arena in downtown Toledo. The Walleye will bring back former Storm boss Nick Vitucci as the team's inaugural head coach and while Joe Napoli will serve as the team's general manager. Napoli also serves as the general manager and vice president of the Toledo Mud Hens minor league baseball club, which owns the Walleye, their co-anchor tenant Toledo Bullfrogs arena football team and Lucas County Arena under the Mud Hens subsidiary, Toledo Arena Sports, Inc.
On June 9, 2009, the ECHL welcomed the Kalamazoo Wings as an expansion member for the 2009–10 season. The Wings will join the American Conference's North Division where it will renew old rivalries from the original IHL with Toledo and Cincinnati. The Wings became the second team in three years to jump from the new International Hockey League to the ECHL, following the Elmira Jackals who transferred from the IHL to the ECHL in time for the 2007–08 season. Kalamazoo's move to the ECHL was expected after the club announced they were leaving the IHL on June 3, 2009.

League realignment

With Phoenix ceasing operations, Dayton and Mississippi suspending operations for the season and Toledo being added, the ECHL found itself with 19 teams and in need for a realignment of its teams. Following the Mid-Season Board of Governors Meeting, the ECHL announced a new divisional alignment of 11 teams in the American Conference and 8 teams in the National Conference. In the American Conference, the expansion Toledo Walleye would move into the North Division, while the Reading Royals and Trenton Devils were forced to move from the North Division to the South Division. The Pacific and West Divisions of the National Conference will remain the same with the exception of the Phoenix Roadrunners and the Fresno Falcons who folded midway through the 2008-09 season.
On June 9, 2009, the ECHL announced that the newly admitted Kalamazoo Wings would compete in the American Conference's North Division bring the total number of teams in the North Division to six and the total number of teams in the American Conference to twelve.
Following the Annual Board of Governors' Meeting in June, the ECHL announced that it would establish a third division in the American Conference consisting of the Elmira, Johnstown, Reading and Trenton franchises. The move slightly balances the league as all five divisions have four members.

American Conference

East Division
Pacific Division
At the Annual Board of Governors' Meeting unanimously approved a new format for the Kelly Cup Playoffs in 2010 as follows:
The conference quarterfinals will be a best-of-five game series with the remaining rounds being best-of-seven game series. The best-of-five series will be a 2-3 format with the higher seed choosing if it wishes to host Games 1-2 or Games 3-5. Teams that are less than 350 miles apart may choose to play a 2-2-1 format.
In the National Conference, postseason berths will be awarded to the first-place team in each division and the next five teams in the conference, based on points. The division winner with the best record in the conference will receive a bye in the first round, the other division winner will play the 7th seed, and so on. The semifinals will put the Conference champion against the winner of the 4-5 seed games, and the other two series winners against each other.
In the American Conference, postseason berths will be awarded to the first-place team in each division and the next five teams in the conference, based on points, with the division winners being the top three seeds. The winners of the 1-8 matchup will play the winner of the 4-5 matchup in the first Conference semifinal series, and the other two winners will meet in the other semifinal.

Player roster revision

As well as the newly approved playoff format, the league also stated that the Injured Reserve would be abolished during the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Instead, the teams will have a maximum roster of 23 players for the postseason with 20 active players and up to three inactive players.

Other league business

During the Annual Board of Governors' Meeting in June, the league announced a few decisions set to try to stabilize the league. The first of which was the Board of Governors' unanimously re-electing Steve Chapman of the Gwinnett Gladiators as the Chairman of the Board of Governors for a fourth straight term. Chapman had been awarded the ECHL Executive of the Year Award in 2005 and 2006, the only person in league history to win the award multiple times.
With the four team difference between the American and National Conferences, the league revised its expansion policy. After having a membership as high as 40 during the ECHL-WCHL merger, the league capped the number of teams the league would allow to 24, with a priority of putting teams in the South and West. The league currently has 20 active members and two inactive members in Columbia, SC and Reno, NV.
The league received updates from the inactive Columbia Inferno and Reno, Nevada franchises who were granted a one-year extension to their voluntary suspensions. Columbia advised the Board that construction is scheduled to begin later in the Summer on the Lexington County Events Center and that the Inferno plan to return to the ice for the 2010-11 season. The team also announced that it retained the nucleus of its staff and plans to increase its preparation for 2010-11 in October. The Board unanimously approved a request from Reno for a one-year extension to its Home Arena Pending as the ownership group continues its work toward an arena project. The Reno franchise has been on voluntary suspension since the team was granted expansion rights in 2004.
Finally, the league announced the creation of the Playing Schedule Committee. The committee was created to examine the overall scheduling process. The committee will report to the Board at the Preseason Meeting in September regarding the timing and release of the schedule in coming seasons as well as the criteria to be used in creating the schedule.

Regular season

Updated through April 1, 2010

Conference standings

x - clinched playoff spot, y - clinched division title, z - clinched best conference record, e - eliminated from playoff contention
* – division leader
National ConferenceGPWLOTLSOLGFGAPTS
b-Idaho Steelheads *72481725260191103
y-Bakersfield Condors *7238294123224381
x-Alaska Aces7236284423224080
x-Utah Grizzlies7234294526025377
x-Las Vegas Wranglers7234304423425776
x-Stockton Thunder7233292723524176
x-Victoria Salmon Kings7234324223024374
e-Ontario Reign7231313721422972

x - clinched playoff spot, y - clinched division title, b - clinched Brabham Cup, best record in the conference and first round bye, e - eliminated from playoff contention
* – division leader

Divisional standings

;American Conference
East DivisionGPWLOTLSOLGFGAPTS
y-Elmira Jackals 7237266327523183
x-Reading Royals 7237291525427580
e-Trenton Devils 7233304524425275
e-Johnstown Chiefs 7218437421530747

North DivisionGPWLOTLSOLGFGAPTS
y-Kalamazoo Wings 7242206427324394
x-Cincinnati Cyclones 7244251223520091
x-Toledo Walleye 7235302525427477
e-Wheeling Nailers 7233322524024973

South DivisionGPWLOTLSOLGFGAPTS
z-Charlotte Checkers 7243214425322394
x-South Carolina Stingrays 7241196624821694
x-Florida Everblades 7238254523422185
e-Gwinnett Gladiators 7231335324327770

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; SOL = Shootout loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
;National Conference
Pacific DivisionGPWLOTLSOLGFGAPTS
y-Bakersfield Condors 7238294123224381
x-Las Vegas Wranglers 7234304423425776
x-Stockton Thunder 7233292723524176
e-Ontario Reign 7231313721422972

Note: GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime loss; SOL = Shootout loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points

2009-10 Kelly Cup Playoffs

Bracket

Statistical leaders

Leading skaters

These are the top ten skaters based on points.
GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; PTS = Points; +/– = Plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; † = Player no longer with listed team
PlayerTeamGPGAPTS+/–PIM
Tyler DonatiElmira Jackals673876114+2152
Justin DonatiElmira Jackals654262104+1348
Ryan KinasewichUtah Grizzlies594855103-1170
Mark DerlagoIdaho Steelheads60425082+3436
Adam MillerLas Vegas Wranglers72335386+3102
AJ PerryUtah Grizzlies67304878-1062
Evan BarlowIdaho Steelheads58324375+3065
James BatesStockton Thunder60274673+1824
Andrew FournierKalamazoo Wings70274471+1140
Ryan CruthersReading Royals60224971+571

Statistics current as of: April 5, 2010

Leading goaltenders

These are the top five goaltenders based on both goals against average and save percentage with at least one game played.
GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; SA = Shots against; GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SV% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts; TOI = Time on ice
PlayerTeamGPWLSAGAGAASV%SOTOI
Richard BachmanIdaho Steelheads352211852772.28.91042028
Jeremy SmithCincinnati Cyclones42231710741082.28.89922468
Rejean BeaucheminIdaho Steelheads3925139301002.63.89222279
Ryan MunceCharlotte Checkers44261711391162.77.91312511
Todd FordSouth Carolina Stingrays28189859772.79.91011658

Statistics current as of: April 5, 2010

ECHL awards

All-ECHL Teams

All-ECHL First Team

F Mark Derlago

F Tyler Donati

F Ryan Kinasewich

D Eric Regan

D J.C. Sawyer

G Todd Ford

All-ECHL Second Team

F Justin Donati

F Adam Miller

F Tyler Spurgeon

D Mitch Ganzak

D Jimmy Sharrow

G Richard Bachman

ECHL All-Rookie Team

The selections of two players from the Gwinnett Gladiators and Idaho Steelheads marked the eighth and ninth times that multiple players from the same team had been voted to the All-Rookie Team and the first time since the 2001-02 season.
ECHL-All Rookie Team

F Evan Barlow

F Justin Donati

F Maxime Tanguay

D Drew Paris

D Sam Roberts

G Richard Bachman