Five Legendary Goalies You Didn't Know Played in the ECHL

The Hockey News names five legendary goaltenders you didn't know got their start in the ECHL

Reaching the top of the mountain in pro sports demands patience, poise, and above all, practice. 

Goaltending is a lonely proposition, a powderkeg of emotions and a tsunami of expectations heaped upon the general day-to-day strain of a pro athlete. 

Those who embrace the grind and train their minds as well as their bodies reach immortal status, hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup and perhaps one day earning their rightful place in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Over 700 alumni of the ECHL have gone on to break into the major ranks of the National Hockey League. Among them is a staggering level of high-quality, All-Star-level goaltenders. 

In the first of our alumni series, The Hockey News looks back at a select few marquee goaltenders who reached legendary status in the NHL, but not before cutting their teeth in the ECHL.

Long before Tim Thomas became a household name, the Flint Michigan native was honing his skills in the ECHL, albeit for about the time it would take to binge a season of The X-Files.

Thomas suited up for the Birmingham Bulls for six games in the 97-98 season, amassing a 4-1-1 record with a 2.17 GAA and .944 save percentage.

Clearly a sign of things to come, Thomas would go on to have a sparkling career in the NHL, earning four NHL All-Star appearances, winning two Vezina trophies, and leading the Boston Bruins to the Stanley Cup in 2011, where he would be named Conn Smythe Winner. He was the oldest player to win the award at the age of 37.

When you think of the netminder most associated with the Washington Capitals, Olie the Goalie is the name that springs to mind for a generation of fans.

Olaf Kolzig's playing career lasted two decades, with 14 seasons spent as a Capital, earning numerous club records and banking a Vezina trophy, King Clancy Memorial Trophy, and All-Star honors.

Yet only diehard Kolzig fans may know that the German-born superstar spent two separate seasons in the ECHL.

Kolzig played 21 games for the Hampton Roads Admirals in the 90-91 season, before splitting time between Hampton and Baltimore of the AHL in 91-92, suiting up for another 14 games, earning an 11-3 win/loss record.

Another Capitals alumni, and a Stanley Cup champion no less, once plied his trade in the ECHL. 

Between stints with the WHL's Saskatoon Blades and AHL's Hershey Bears, Braden Holtby appeared in 12 games for the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays during the 2009-10 season, finishing with a 7-2-3 record with a 2.95 GAA and .911 save percentage. He would go on to represent the Stingrays at the ECHL All-Star Game that same year.

The 93rd overall pick of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft would backstop the Capitals to their first-ever Stanley Cup in 2018. He tied the league record for most wins by a goaltender in a single season in 2016, winning the Vezina trophy in the process. 

Czech sensation Tomas Vokoun took the ice for 700 NHL games, clocking in a healthy 2.56 career average and .917 save percentage with the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, Washington Capitals, and Pittsburgh Penguins. 

The 2010 Olympic bronze medalist and 2005 and 2010 World Champion began his pro career with the ECHL's Wheeling Thunderbirds in a year that saw the future All-Star compile a 20-10-2 record with a less than stellar 3.67 GAA and .881 save percentage.

He'd quickly adjust to the sharp learning curve of pro hockey and become one of the Czech Republic's premier goaltenders of his generation. 

Three-time Stanley Cup Champion and Olympic silver medalist Jonathan Quick is seemingly a lock for a Hockey Hall of Fame induction. When that faithful call comes, Quick's growth in the ECHL will be a footnote in a legendary career.

The big-show vet of the Kings, Golden Knights, and newly-minted New York Ranger was a member of the 2007-8 Reading Royals, taking the ice for 38 games, and earning 23 wins with a 2.79 GAA and .905 save percentage.

From there it was all-systems-go for the longtime King, who hoisted Stanley's Cup in 2012 and 2014 with the dynasty-level club, taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2012 in what is regarded as one of the single-best goalie-showcases in playoff history.