Christie sets ECHL record for most games coached

Jacksonville head coach Jason Christie added to his ECHL resume on Saturday when he set a new league record by coaching in his 1,009th career game. He broke the previous record of 1,008, which was held by 2012 ECHL Hall of Fame inductee John Marks.

Christie, who set the ECHL record for most career wins with his 492nd career win on Dec. 3, 2015 when Tulsa defeated Idaho, is now 547-350-112 in his ECHL coaching career which began in Peoria in 2000-01 and is now in its 15th season. He has led teams to the Kelly Cup Playoffs 10 times in 14 seasons and he has posted at least 36 wins in 11 seasons.

He was an assistant coach with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League in 2008-09 and 2009-10 before being named head coach of the Central Hockey League’s Bloomington PrairieThunder in 2010-11. He led Bloomington to a 37-22-7 record and the team’s first postseason appearance on his way to being named the CHL Coach of the Year.

Christie played the last of his 10 professional seasons with Peoria and led the Rivermen to the 2000 Kelly Cup championship, earning co-Most Valuable Player honors. He played five seasons in the American Hockey League and the International Hockey League, scoring 172 points (58g-114a) in 305 games. Before turning pro, he scored 290 points (115g-175a) in 279 games with Saskatoon in the Western Hockey League.