Atlanta Gladiators forward Mike Pelech now ranks second on the ECHL's all-time career games played list. | Twitter
Atlanta Gladiators forward Mike Pelech now ranks second on the ECHL's all-time career games played list. | Twitter
The Atlanta Gladiators’ Michael Pelech on Dec. 17 achieved a milestone in the form of second place on the ECHL's career games played list.
According to the Gladiators on their website, the team’s 2-1 victory over the Florida Everblades was the 32-year-old Pelech’s 790th career game.
“Pelech, who began his ECHL career with Ontario in 2009-10, trails only 2018 ECHL Hall of Fame inductee Sam Ftorek on the League's all-time games list," the team said in a press release. “Ftorek skated in 859 ECHL games over 15 seasons.”
Pelech also ranks high on another ECHL list.
According to the Gladiators, he owns the league’s third all-time assist total with 406, trailing only Louis Dumont (566) and Chris Valicevic (460).
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound forward from Toronto, Canada, rounds out the Top 10 of the ECHL’s all-time career points list with 589 under his belt and could possibly break the 600-point mark sometime this season.
The league on Dec. 28 bestowed its Player of the Week honors for Dec. 20-26 on Pelech, the Gladiators’ website reported.
According to the team, Pelech pumped in three points in Atlanta’s 5-3 win at Orlando on Dec. 21 and chipped in a goal in a 4-3 shootout loss at Jacksonville on Dec. 22.
“Pelech ranks second in ECHL history in games played, third in assists and tied for ninth in points,” a release said. He is seven games shy of reaching the 800-games played mark in his ECHL career and six points shy of becoming just the eighth player in league history to tally at least 600 career points. He has added six points (2g-4a) in 35 career games in the American Hockey League.”
Pelech bested Kansas City’s Darik Angeli, Florida’s Blake Winiecki, Jacksonville’s Craig Martin, and Toledo’s Brady Tomlak for the accolade, which Inglasco sponsors.
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