1950 ECHO League Meetings

ECHO Expansion
Over the last few seasons, Phillippe St-Arnaud and Riley McCullough have been striving to grow ECHO by recruiting new team owners. Their efforts have paid off, as they were able to bring in one new owner each. St-Arnaud successfully convinced André Dubois, a Trois-Rivières businessman, to bring back the team he previously owned in the Quebec Hockey Association. Meanwhile, Riley McCullough was approached by Fredericton businessman John Montgomery, who expressed interest in owning a team in his hometown. At the meeting, both Dubois and Montgomery were present for the vote on expanding ECHO to Trois-Rivières and Fredericton, which passed without any issues.

ECHO Changes
The new teams, Trois-Rivières and Fredericton, will be placed in different divisions. Trois-Rivières will join the St. Lawrence Division, while Fredericton will be in the newly renamed Atlantic Division. 

The league's schedule is set to expand from 52 games to 58 games, with each team playing seven games against the teams in their division and six games against teams in the other division. 

In addition, the playoff format is also changing as the first round will now consist of five games, and the Sound Cup Final will now be played over seven games.

1950 ECHO Designs

Introducing the Fredericton Stars

Fredericton was the first to unveil their branding. The owner, John Montgomery, chose to call the team the Stars to distinguish his team from the other two teams in New Brunswick, which are both military-themed.

Montgomery then unveiled the team's inaugural logo, a gold star outlined in black adorned by a black F for Fredericton outlined in black and gold.



Then Montgomery unveiled the inaugural jersey sets for his team, which feature three stripes (Gold-White-Gold) on the sleeves, the hem of the jerseys, and the socks.




C&C are appreciated as always
Up next: Trois-Rivières

Last edited by Kingsfan11 (9/14/2023 6:51 pm)

digging both of the expansion looks! fredericton is a little bruins-y, which I obviously won't complain about. the tigres are also nice, and I like that they chose orange as their primary jersey color, which should set them apart. the only complaint I have is the tiny little orange corners in the T, although that seems to change depending on which version of the logo I'm looking at - the logo on the jerseys doesn't seem to have this problem but the others do. it also looks like you have two different shades of orange between the two graphics. overall, though, good work!

1950 ECHO Expansion Draft

The new teams participated in an expansion draft, in which Trois-Rivières had the first pick after winning a coin toss. The expansion teams were permitted to select a total of six players from each existing team. Once all the selections were made, the rosters of each team were as follows:

Fredericton Stars

G Richard Jones (STJ)

D Rémi Bellefeuille (OTT)
D Glenn Brissett (STJ)
D Kevin Larkin (STJ)
D Bill Mattison (MON)
D Paul Girard (MON)
D Christian Tang (MON)

W Daniel Caron (MTM)
W Stéphane Archambault (CHA)
W Erik Smith (HFX)
W Alexander Ross (STJ)
W Geoff Anderson (QUE)
W Gaëtan Patenaude (MTM)
W Kain Marshall (CHA)
W Raymond Brooks (OTT)
W Kenneth Dure (OTT)
W Arthur Laroche (MON)
W Victor Noel (MTB)

C Andrew Dupont (HFX)
C Michael MacKenzie (HFX)
C Michael Fraser (MTB)
C Paul Plante (CHA)
C Luc Rousseau (QUE)
C Sean Lauzon (MTB)

Trois-Rivières Tigres

G Nicolas Deschênes (MTM)
G Tyson Gravel (QUE)

D Chris MacKenzie (HFX)
D Bryan Jack-Kurdyla (HFX)
D Wilfred Gauthier (CHA)
D William Paquette (HFX)
D John Taylor (MON)
D Brian Lee (MTB)

W Steve Turgeon (OTT)
W Gary Fleming (QUE)
W William Weber (CHA)
W Benoit Archambault (MTM)
W George Blake (STJ)
W Roger Giroux (OTT)
W Roy Craig (MON)
W Robert White (QUE)
W Lachlan MacNeil (CHA)
W Steven Prince (MTM)

C Michel Djogo (OTT)
C Phillip Wright (STJ)
C James Mulder (QUE)
C Anatole Grenier (MTM)
C Harold Turner (MTB)
C Rob Marshall (MTB)

During the expansion draft, Fredericton made some great choices by acquiring skilled players such as winger Gaëtan Patenaude, known for his scoring abilities. They also picked up some promising young talent in the form of wingers Erik Smith and Alexander Ross, as well as center Andrew Dupont. However, the team lacks a standout defenseman, and their only drafted goaltender, Richard Jones, has been a backup to Andy Fox in Saint John for the past two years. 

On the other hand, Trois-Rivières wasted no time selecting a top-notch goaltender, Nicolas Deschênes, with the first pick of the expansion draft. Alongside Deschênes, the team acquired defenceman Chris MacKenzie, who is expected to become a cornerstone of the Tigres' defence. Additionally, the team has a promising young defensive duo in William Paquette and Bryan Jack-Kurdyla, who are expected to become key assets once they reach their full potential. Michel Djogo and Phillip Wright, both young centers with high potential, should not be overlooked either. Unfortunately, the team acquired no wingers considered a significant offensive threat. 

Any thoughts on the expansion draft? By the way, this is your last chance to submit prospects for the Rookie Recruitment, as I'll be doing the draft over the next few days.

Last edited by Kingsfan11 (9/15/2023 1:52 pm)

Kingsfan11 wrote:

1950 ECHO Rookie Recruitment
Italic = User Submitted Prospect

Trois-Rivières made some player acquisitions, starting with goaltender Homer Rodgers, who has exceptional reflexes and an incredible ability to read the game. They also added speedy winger Jérémie Bonheur, known for his scoring prowess, and playmaker center Andre Michaud, whose vision on the ice is exceptional.

Fredericton brought in hard-working two-way center Les Conner, solid goaltender Carol Blanchard and physical defenseman Ron Russell.

Saint John acquired reliable defensemen Léonce Dupond and Harry Tubbs, along with a skilled sniper with a deadly shot in winger Robert Jones.

Charlottetown got themselves a versatile center in Quinton Labelle, a fast skater with a scoring touch in winger Gary Morgan, and a defenseman with excellent puck-moving skills in Richard Jenkins.

The Montreal Beavers have added some talented players to their team; Robert Bonfils, a skilled winger with extraordinary stickhandling abilities; Jock Stewart, a tough center who is not afraid to get physical; and Maxime LeBlanc, a reliable defenseman with strong positioning and a solid shot.

Ottawa would welcome three quick-witted wingers: Roland Colbert, Glen Nash, and Wayne MacEachern.

Moncton acquired Abélard Leroy and Bruce MacIntyre, a pair of physical defensemen, and gritty winger William Woods.

The Montréal Métros acquired two skilled playmaking centers in Bill Walker Jr. and Duncan Smith, along with defenseman Marion MacArthur, who’s a steady presence on the blue line with good positioning and defensive instincts.

Quebec got themselves a fast-skating winger with a good shot in Nicholas Marriott and two versatile centers with good offensive skills in Michael Jensen and Dustin Fraser.

Halifax acquired skilled center Michael Nelson, who’s got extraordinary stickhandling abilities, hard-working and speedy winger Hubert Young, who has an excellent positioning sense which helps him find the back of the net and a robust, large and physical defenseman in Pierre Arseneault.


What are your thoughts on the rookie class of your team? Any other questions about the ECHO are also welcome.

Do you have a spreadsheet tracking down the teams/players performances?