Aug. 6—Goaltender Billy Christopoulos, who was named to the All-ECHL rookie team in 2019-20, has re-signed with the Toledo Walleye.
Christopoulos, 27, made his pro debut with the Walleye and posted a 23-3-3 record in 2019-20.
In his first pro season, the Air Force Academy graduate led the ECHL with a .932 save percentage, ranked third with 24 wins, and was sixth with a 2.29 goals-against average. He was named the ECHL goaltender of the month in February of that year.
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— Toledo Walleye (@ToledoWalleye) August 5, 2021
The native of Raleigh had re-signed with Toledo last summer. But the Walleye organization opted to sit out the 2020-21 ECHL season due to the uncertainties created by the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m pumped to be there,” Christopoulos said. “I know everybody feels like we have a little bit of unfinished business when we got shut down. We’re all excited to get back to the Huntington Center and listen to [the fans] rock that place.”
Christopoulos said it was the organization as a whole that swayed him to return.
“It really is a first class operation,” he said. “From the top down, management, coaching staff, facilities, and everything in between, it’s a great place to be. And then when you add the fans and atmosphere at the Huntington Center on top of that, it’s hard to beat. We’re really looking forward to getting the season going and picking up where we left off two years ago.”
At the urging of Toledo coach Dan Watson, Christopoulos signed with the Indy Fuel in mid-January.
Christopoulos went 11-5-1 with the Fuel while posting a 2.29 goals-against average and .914 save percentage. He also made his AHL debut during the season, appearing in five contests for the Rochester Americans. Christopoulos went 1-1-0 with a 6.03 goals-against average.
On Jan. 25, Christopoulos was named the ECHL’s goalie of the week after he went 2-1-0 with a 1.65 goals-against with a save percentage of .950 in his first three appearances with the Fuel.
Christopoulos also helped lead Indy to a berth in the Kelly Cup playoffs.
“Billy has proven he can be an elite goaltender at the ECHL level,” Watson said. “He competes and works each day to get better. He gained valuable experience last season by getting to play games in the AHL. We are excited to have Billy back in a Walleye uniform where he performed extremely well in the 2019-20 season.”
Christopoulos was acquired by the Walleye in a trade at the start of the 2019-20 season with South Carolina. A call-up to starter Pat Nagle to the AHL opened up more playing time for the rookie. Christopoulos started in 14 of 20 games after coming to the team, including 10 straight from Nov. 30 to Jan. 3.
Christopoulos ended up playing in 30 of the team’s 59 games and became the team’s MVP in a season ended early because of the coronavirus. He was just the sixth Walleye player to ever land on the ECHL all-rookie team.
At Air Force from 2015 to 2019, Christopoulos appeared in 93 games for the Falcons. Christopoulos went 42-31-11 with a 2.29 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.
First Published August 5, 2021, 2:46pm