Jeff Pyle | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born | St. Robert, Missouri | October 7, 1958||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
Position | Left wing | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for | AHL Binghamton Whalers IHL Saginaw Gears Flint Generals Saginaw Hawks ACHL Mohawk Valley Stars | ||
NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
Playing career | 1981–1993 |
Jeff Pyle (born October 7, 1958) is an American former ice hockey player and the current Director of Hockey Operations of the ECHL Atlanta Gladiators.
Pyle began coaching in the ECHL during the 1998–99 season, when he coached the Mobile Mysticks. He remained as the head coach when the franchise moved to Gwinnett County to become the Gwinnett Gladiators for the 2003–04 season, staying in this position through the end of the 2010–11 season.
On July 13, 2011, Pyle was named head coach of the American Hockey League's Texas Stars. [1]
It was announced on April 11, 2013, that Pyle would become the head coach and director of hockey operations of the ECHL's Evansville IceMen, effective July 1, 2013. [2] On April 20, 2014, Pyle was relieved of his duties with Evansville due to disagreements on hockey operations with owner Ron Geary. [3]
In September 2014, Pyle moved to Italy to become head coach of the HC Valpellice Bulldogs of Torre Pellice (TO), Piedmont.
On March 22, 2016, Pyle returned to the Evansville area as the head coach of the Southern Professional Hockey League's Evansville Thunderbolts, which was announced to replace the departing ECHL IceMen franchise. [3]
In 2018, Pyle returned to Gwinnett County, Georgia, as the head coach of his old team, the since renamed Atlanta Gladiators. [4]
On June 6, 2023, Pyle was promoted by the Atlanta Gladiators from Head Coach and General Manager to Director of Hockey Operations. [5]
Award | Year | |
---|---|---|
All-CCHA First Team | 1980–81 | [6] |
CCHA Player of the Year | 1980–81 | |
James Gatschene Memorial Trophy - IHL Most Valuable Player | 1986–87 | [7] |
Leo P. Lamoureux Memorial Trophy - IHL Leading Point Scorer | 1986–87 | [8] |
John Brophy Award - ECHL Coach of the Year | 2021-22 | [9] |
NMU Sports Hall of Fame | 2022 | [10] |
The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 season. They were members of the Southeast Division of the NHL's Eastern Conference, and played their home games at what is now known as State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta. The Thrashers qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs in the 2006–07 season, after winning the Southeast Division, but were swept in the first round by the New York Rangers.
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which operated the league from 2000 to 2013, at which point it was purchased by the individual franchise owners. As of the end of its final season in 2014, three of the 30 National Hockey League teams had affiliations with the CHL: the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the United States and Canada. The league was headquartered in Rochester, Michigan, and, in its last year, consisted of seven teams. It folded in 2010, with most of its teams joining the Central Hockey League. The Central Hockey League teams still operating in 2014 were then added to ECHL. The only former CoHL/UHL/IHL teams still active as of 2024 are the Fort Wayne Komets and Kalamazoo Wings.
The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho, and a member of the ECHL. The Steelheads play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference since the 2016–17 season.
The Atlanta Gladiators are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Duluth, Georgia. The Gladiators play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at Gas South Arena, approximately 22 miles (35 km) northeast of Atlanta.
The Toledo Storm were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the ECHL from 1991 to 2007. The Storm played their home games at the venerable Toledo Sports Arena along the eastern banks of the Maumee River in Toledo, Ohio. The team colors were red and white, similar to the Detroit Red Wings, their NHL affiliate for fourteen of their sixteen seasons. The Storm would win six division titles, two Henry Brabham Cups and two Jack Riley Cups as champion of the East Coast Hockey League. The franchise suspended operations following the 2006–07 season after they were sold to Toledo Arena Sports, Inc. The Storm returned to the ECHL for the 2009–10 season as the Toledo Walleye.
The Cincinnati Cyclones are an ice hockey team based in Cincinnati. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heritage Bank Center.
The Mobile Mysticks were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Mobile, Alabama that played in the ECHL. They played their home games at the Mobile Civic Center. The team was founded in 1995 as an expansion franchise, joining the ECHL alongside the Louisville RiverFrogs and the Louisiana IceGators. The Mysticks owed their name to the prevalence of mystic societies—social organizations responsible for throwing parades and balls during the Carnival season—that existed in Mobile since the early 18th century.
Stephen Paul Martinson is an American former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played 49 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and Minnesota North Stars between 1987 and 1992. The rest of his playing career, which lasted from 1981 to 1996, was spent in various minor leagues. After retiring as a player he turned to coaching, and his 1,123 career professional coaching wins are the most ever for an American born ice hockey head coach.
The Toledo Walleye are a professional ice hockey team based in Toledo, Ohio. The Walleye are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the ECHL. The Walleye were founded in 1991 as the Toledo Storm and play their home games at the Huntington Center, which opened in 2009. Since the beginning of the 2009–10 season, the team has been affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League with an agreement in place through the 2023–24 season. They won the Season 9 Servus cup in The AXHL
The 2009–10 ECHL season was the 22nd season of the ECHL. It ran from October, 2009 until April, 2010, followed by the Kelly Cup playoffs which lasted until May 21, 2010 as the Cincinnati Cyclones won their second Kelly Cup championship in three years by defeating the Idaho Steelheads in five games. The league welcomed two franchises to the league for the 2009–10 season with the return of the Toledo Storm as the Toledo Walleye, who will play in the Lucas County Arena in Toledo, Ohio, after a two-year suspension of the franchise to allow for the construction of their new arena, and the admission of the Kalamazoo Wings as an expansion franchise who will play in Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The ECHL held its annual All-Star Game and Skills Challenge on January 19–20 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, home of the Ontario Reign.
James Burton was a professional ice hockey defenceman.
The Evansville IceMen were a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL in Evansville, Indiana. The franchise was originally a member of the United Hockey League before it merged into the Central Hockey League in 2010. The franchise won four post-season championship titles in the UHL in 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2005. The franchise played one season at Swonder Ice Arena before moving to the Ford Center beginning in the 2011–12 season.
Derek Nesbitt is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the current head coach of the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL.
The 2012–13 ECHL season was the 25th season of the ECHL. The regular season schedule ran from October 12, 2012 to March 30, 2013, with the Kelly Cup playoffs to follow. The All-Star Game, not held in 2011-12, was brought back and held on January 23, 2013 at Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado, home of the Colorado Eagles.
The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team that plays their home games at Kia Center in Orlando, Florida. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League and Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League.
John Ellsworth Wroblewski is an American former ice hockey player. He is currently the head coach of the United States women's national ice hockey team. He is the former head coach of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program and Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League.
Chuck Weber is an American ice hockey coach.
The 2015–16 ECHL season was the 28th season of the ECHL. The regular season schedule ran from October 16, 2015 to April 9, 2016 with the Kelly Cup playoffs to follow. Twenty-eight teams in 21 states and one Canadian province each played a 72-game schedule. The league alignment was significantly altered before the season when the American Hockey League announced the formation of a Pacific Division on January 30, 2015 displacing the ECHL teams that had been in California markets.
The Evansville Thunderbolts are a minor league ice hockey team in the SPHL. The team plays at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. The team replaced the Evansville IceMen of the ECHL. Evansville is owned by the Knoxville Ice Bears.