OHL graduate Michael Pelech sets new ECHL all-time games played record

OHL graduate Michael Pelech made history on Tuesday night, setting a new all-time games played record in the ECHL. The Atlanta Gladiators forward played in career regular season game 860 on Tuesday as the Gladiators fell to the visiting South Carolina Stingrays by a score of 5-3.

A 33-year-old from Toronto, Ont., Pelech has put up 44 points (8-36–44) in 47 games with Atlanta this season, his 15th in the ECHL. Pelech has accomplished the feat as part of 10 different teams and is now skating in his second season with Atlanta. He surpassed prior record-holder Sam Ftorek, who played in 859 ECHL games over 15 seasons from 1998-2018.

The second of three brothers to play in the OHL, Pelech entered the League as the 18th overall pick of the 2005 Priority Selection and played four seasons with the Kitchener Rangers and Toronto/Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors from 2005-09.  He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Draft.

Pelech has amassed 655 points (198-457–655) in his 860 career ECHL contests, good for the fourth-most in League history. He’s also skated in 35 career AHL regular season games over the course of his professional career.

Mike Pelech of the @atlgladiators sets a new #ECHL record for career games played as he skates in his 860th career league game tonight against South Carolina.https://t.co/ac4j1GPOFr

— ECHL (@ECHL) February 15, 2023