ECHL officials to officiate at Traverse City Prospect Tournament

The ECHL announced on Monday that eight ECHL on-ice officials, along with Manager of Officiating Riley Yerkovich, will work the 2023 NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan from Sept. 14-17. This marks the 11th consecutive tournament that ECHL officials have worked games. Debuting in 1988, the NHL Prospects Tournament will feature four clubs this year – Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs. Yerkovich will be responsible for the selection and scheduling of the officials for each game of the tournament and will assist any playing or rule situation that takes place during the tournament. The officiating staff for the tournament includes four referees and four linesmen. “The ECHL Officiating Team would like to thank the NHL, Detroit Red Wings and participating teams for hosting one of the best off-season events in hockey,” Yerkovich said. “The Traverse City Prospects Tournament allows our officials to officiate high-caliber hockey and is incredibly important to the development of our on-ice staff. Furthermore, the ECHL Officiating Team would like to thank the support staff for all teams and Centre Ice Arena. Our officials always feel welcome at the event, and it is a highlight of many of their careers.” ECHL officials who will work during the Prospects Tournament include referees Chad Ingalls, David Lilly, Hunter Mottinger and Brendan Schreider along with linespeople Zach Carson, Luke Pye, Tyler Willie and Kirsten Welsh. There are 40 former ECHL officials who are scheduled to work as part of the NHL officiating team in 2023-24 with referees Riley Brace, Jake Brenk, Francis Charron, Tom Chmielewski, Mitch Dunning, Trevor Hanson, Beau Halkidis, Ghislain Hebert, Jean Hebert, Pierre Lambert, T.J. Luxmore, Peter MacDougall, Morgan MacPhee, Michael Markovic, Wes McCauley, Jon McIsaac, Dan O’Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Kevin Pollock, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Carter Sandlak, Graham Skilliter, Furman South, Justin St. Pierre and linesmen Steve Barton, Ryan Daisy, Julien Fournier, Brandon Gawryletz, Brandon Grillo, Mitchell Hunt, Trent Knorr, Matt MacPherson, Jesse Marquis, Kilian McNamara, Bevin Mills, C.J. Murray, Kory Nagy, Ben O’Quinn and Bryan Pancich. About the ECHL Formed in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 28 teams in 20 states and two Canadian provinces for its 36th season in 2023-24. There have been 740 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including 13 who have made their NHL debut in the 2022-23 season. The ECHL has affiliations with 28 of the 32 NHL teams in 2023-24, marking the 27th consecutive season that the league has 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.