The Florida Panthers have won their second consecutive Stanley Cup following a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers Tuesday night. Once again, the ECHL was well-represented on a Stanley Cup Champion team.
For the 25th consecutive year, the ECHL is represented on the Stanley Cup champion with Panthers Assistant General Manager Brett Peterson; Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Paul Krepelka; Assistant Coach Jamie Kompon; Goaltending Coach Robb Tallas; players Vitek Vanecek and Carter Verhaeghe; Professional Scouts P.J. Fenton and Sean Backman; Amateur Scouts Dillon Donnelly, Josh Monk and Ken Morin; Assistant Athletic Trainer Brian Riedel; Assistant Equipment Managers Thomas Anderson, Dakota King and Joe Wiezczek and Radio Broadcaster Doug Plagens.
Peterson skated in 317 career ECHL games over five seasons with Atlantic City, Johnstown, Florida and Phoenix from 2004-09. He is in his fourth season in the Panthers front office, and upon hiring in November 2020, he became the first Black assistant general manager in NHL history.
Krepelka played two seasons in the ECHL with Hampton Roads from 1991-93, tallying 33 points (14-19-33) in 85 games. He went on to serve as Director of Player Personnel for Norfolk in 2017-18 before joining the Panthers front office in 2018-19 as Vice President of Hockey Operations.
Kompon, who previously won Stanley Cup titles as an assistant coach with Los Angeles in 2012, Chicago in 2013 and Florida in 2024, totaled 17 points (4-13-17) in 59 games with Hampton Roads, Cincinnati and Winston-Salem from 1989-91.
Tallas, who is in his 16th season as Florida’s goaltending coach, went 21-9-3 in 36 appearances with Charlotte during the 1994-95 season with a 3.40 goals-against average and a save percentage of .882. He went on to appear in 99 career games in the NHL with Boston and Chicago from 1995-2001.
Vanecek appeared in 34 career ECHL games with South Carolina during the 2015-16 and 2017-18 seasons going 19-8-6 with four shutouts, a 2.02 goals-against average and a save percentage of .918, while earning a spot on the 2015-16 ECHL All-Rookie Team. He is 96-56-21 in 188 career NHL appearances with Florida, San Jose, New Jersey and Washington.
Verhaeghe captures his third career Stanley Cup title after previously winning with Tampa Bay in 2020 and Florida in 2024. He had 57 points (20-37-57) in 36 games with Missouri from 2015-17 and has posted 302 points (147-155-302) in 411 career NHL games with the Lightning and Panthers.
Fenton had 11 points (9-2-11) in 14 games with Phoenix in 2008-09 while Backman recorded four points (2g-2a) in five games with Idaho during the 2010-11 season.
Donnelly scored one goal in 10 games with Wichita in 2018-19; Monk recorded one goal in 13 games with Worcester in 2017-18; while Morin tallied four points (1-3-4) in 19 games with Bakersfield in 2009-10.
Riedel is in his third season on the Panthers training staff. He spent one season with Greenville in 2018-19 before spending three seasons with Hershey of the American Hockey League.
Anderson has ECHL experience as an assistant equipment manager with Gwinnett in 2010-11 and 2012-13, and is in his seventh season on the Panthers staff.
King, who was named ECHL Equipment Manager of the Year with Gwinnett in 2014-15, spent two seasons with the Gladiators before joining Florida’s staff in 2015-16.
Wiezczek spent two seasons as head equipment manager with Rapid City from 2021-23 before joining Florida’s staff prior to last season.
Plagens served as radio broadcaster for Idaho from 2008-11, then spent four seasons in the same role with Lake Erie of the AHL before joining the Panthers in 2015-16.
Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; The Florida Panthers look at the Stanley Cup after winning game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Bank Arena. Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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