ECHL officials to officiate at NHL Prospects Games

The ECHL announced on Wednesday that referees Chazz Knoche and Rocco Stachowiak and linesmen Kyle Gaspari and Quinn Schafer, along with Director of Officiating Operations Riley Yerkovich, will work the NHL Prospect Games 2024 in Traverse City, Michigan on Sept. 14 and 15. This marks the 13th consecutive tournament that ECHL officials have worked games.
 
Debuting in 1988, this year’s NHL Prospect Games will feature a pair of games between the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings.
 
“The ECHL Officiating Team is honored to continue to work the NHL Traverse City Prospect Games,” Yerkovich said. “This event has long been a significant opportunity for our officials to showcase their skills and skate alongside tomorrow's NHL stars. We are grateful to the Dallas Stars and Detroit Red Wings for their continued participation and support. Thank you to the teams, organizers and staff at Centre Ice Arena for making this experience possible.”
 
There were 40 former ECHL officials who worked 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 29 teams in 22 states and one Canadian province for its 37th season in 2024-25. There have been 752 players who have gone on to play in the National Hockey League after starting their careers in the ECHL, including 12 who have made their NHL debuts in the 2023-24 season. The ECHL has affiliations with 29 of the 32 NHL teams in 2024-25, 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.