Five former ECHL officials selected to work 2022 Stanley Cup Final

Five former ECHL on-ice officials have been selected to work the 2022 Stanley Cup Final between the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning, marking the most officials with ECHL ties ever selected to work the Final series. The officials who previously worked in the ECHL are referees Jean Hebert, Wes McCauley and Chris Rooney along with linesmen Steve Barton and Ryan Daisy. “It is a tremendous honor and achievement to be selected to work the Stanley Cup Final,” said ECHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Joe Ernst. “All five of these officials started their professional officiating careers in the ECHL and to now see them working in the Stanley Cup Final together is a very proud moment for the ECHL.” Hebert was an ECHL referee from 2008-10, and worked the 2010 Kelly Cup Finals. McCauley, who played in the ECHL for Knoxville in the 1993-94 season before later refereeing in the league, worked the 2000 and 2001 Kelly Cup Finals. Rooney worked games in the ECHL from 1996-98, including the 1998 Kelly Cup Finals. Barton worked as a linesman in the ECHL for three seasons from 1996-99, and worked the 1998 Kelly Cup Finals while Daisy spent five seasons in the League from 2011-16, including the Kelly Cup Finals in 2013, 2014 and 2015. In addition to the five former officials selected to work, the 2022 Stanley Cup Final features ECHL connections on both benches. Colorado head coach Jared Bednar, a 2020 inductee into the ECHL Hall of Fame captured three Kelly Cup titles with the South Carolina Stingrays, winning as a player in 1997 and 2001 and as head coach in 2009. Bednar is the second former ECHL coach to lead a team to the Stanley Cup Final, joining former Wheeling Nailers’ head coach Peter Laviolette, who won the Stanley Cup title with Carolina in 2006. Avalanche assistant coach Nolan Pratt played in the ECHL with Richmond in 1995-96, while goaltender Darcy Kuemper suited up in the League for both Ontario and Orlando. Tampa Bay assistant coach Derek Lalonde spent two seasons as head coach of the Toledo Walleye from 2014-16, winning the John Brophy Award as ECHL Coach of the Year during the 2014-15 season. The ECHL has been represented on each of the last 21 Stanley Cup champions. About the ECHL Began in 1988-89 with five teams in four states, the ECHL has grown into a coast-to-coast league with 27 teams in 20 states and two Canadian provinces for its 34th season in 2021-22. There have been 727 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including 29 who have made their NHL debuts in the 2021-22 season. The ECHL has affiliations with 27 of the 32 NHL teams in 2021-22, marking the 25th 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.