ECHL announces 2019-20 All-Rookie Team

The ECHL on Thursday announced its All-Rookie Team for 2019-20 as determined in a vote of ECHL coaches, broadcasters, media relations directors and media, who were asked to select a goaltender, two defensemen and three forwards.

A rookie is defined as a player who has played in less than 25 professional games at the “AA” level or higher prior to the start of the current season. 

2019-20 ECHL All-Rookie Team

G – Billy Christopoulos, Toledo Walleye (24 gp, 23-3-3, 2.29 GAA, .932 save pct.)D – Justin Baudry, Cincinnati Cyclones (61 gp, 11g, 17a, 38 pts.)D – Joseph Duszak, Newfoundland Growlers (34 gp, 9g, 26a, 35 pts.)F – Samuel Asselin, Atlanta Gladiators (53 gp, 26g, 26a, 52 pts.)F – Justin Brazeau, Newfoundland Growlers (57 gp, 27g, 28a, 55 pts.)F – Tyler Sheehy, Allen Americans (47 gp, 26g, 44a, 70 pts.)

Since the ECHL began naming the All-Rookie Team in 2000-01, 20 players selected have gone on to play in the National Hockey League: Simon Gamache (2001-02); Mike Glumac, Vern Fiddler, Adam Hauser, Jason Jaffray and Zenon Konopka (2002-03); Kevin Doell and Brian Fahey (2003-04); Joey Tenute (2004-05); Cedrick Desjardins (2006-07); David Desharnais and Anton Khudobin (2007-08); Richard Bachman (2009-10); Kael Mouillierat and Ben Street (2010-11); Philipp Grubauer (2011-12); Laurent Brossoit (2013-14); Roman Will (2014-15), Jacob MacDonald (2015-16) and Landon Bow (2016-17).

The ECHL will announce its First-Team All-ECHL and Second-Team All-ECHL teams on Friday.

Billy Christopoulos of the Toledo Walleye led the ECHL with a .932 save percentage while finishing first among rookies, and third overall, with 24 wins. Christopoulos was sixth in the league with a 2.29 goals-against average.

Justin Baudry of the Cincinnati Cyclones led rookie defensemen with 38 points, while his 11 goals were tied for first among rookie blueliners and tied for sixth overall among defensemen. He also led first-year defensemen, and was fourth among all blueliners, with 165 shots on goal.

Joseph Duszak of the Newfoundland Growlers finished second among rookie defensemen with 35 points (9g-24a) in 36 games, despite spending the final six weeks of the season with Toronto of the American Hockey League. Duszak’s nine goals were fourth among rookie blueliners.

Samuel Asselin of the Atlanta Gladiators finished the season tied for second among rookies with 26 goals and third with 52 points. His six power-play goals and five game-winning goals were tied for third among first-year players.

Justin Brazeau of the Newfoundland Growlers led all ECHL rookies, and was tied for fifth overall in the league, with 27 goals in 57 games. He ranked second among first-year players with 55 points, second with nine power-play goals and tied for first with six game-winning goals.

Tyler Sheehy of the Allen Americans led rookies, and was third overall in the ECHL with 70 points in 47 games. Sheehy tied for the overall league lead with 44 assists, while he was tied for second among first-year players with 26 goals.

About the ECHLBegan in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 26 teams in 19 states and two Canadian provinces for its 32nd season in 2019-20. There have been 676 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including 14 who have made their NHL debuts in the 2019-20 season. The ECHL has affiliations with 25 of the 31 NHL teams in 2019-20, marking the 23rd 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.