Payne hoists his first Kelly Cup,
as Head Coach of the Alaska Aces
following the 2005-06 ECHL Playoffs

Greensboro Monarchs (ECHL)

Following four solid seasons at MTU, Payne turned pro and appeared in 22 NHL games with the Boston Bruins during his eight-year playing career that spanned 464 professional games with 324 points (155g, 169a)..... This jersey is from Payne's rookie professional season and he put it to good use registering 35 pts with 178 PIMs..... It shows heavy wear, but no team repairs. It appears the team simply didn't own a sewing maching as this jersey certainly was in need of some repairs as is shown by the close up scans of the left sleeve and right sleeve..... The numbering is two color sewn twill, however the name is single color heat press on a nameplate. (The nameplate is a different material than the jersey)..... The fight strap is stained pink from bleaching w/ heavy corrosion in the snaps..... CCM logo embroidered on back hem of the jersey..... Obtained from a private collector in January 2003.

Boston Bruins (NHL)

Overall the jersey shows light wear. It has a handwritten "71" and size 54 flag tagging in the neck..... CCM wash tag in body hem of jersey and a ..... "born on date" sticker on the back of the tag..... The exact usage of this jersey, in terms of dates, is still somewhat in question. Although the nameplate uses iron-on twill letters with screened gold edging, it appears that there are single color black vinyl letters under the twill letters. This can be seen in this close-up of the nameplate. The red lines point out the black material under the twill letters. If you have info about nameplates from this year please drop me an email...... CCM and NHL logo embroidered on back hem of the jersey..... Obtained from Byron's Hockeyland in April 2002.

In 2007 Payne took a position as an assistant coach in the AHL with the Peoria Rivermen after establishing a .691 winning percentage over four years as head coach for the Alaska Aces, the Rivermen ECHL affiliate. The 2006-07 ECHL Coach of the Year, Payne led the Aces to the 2006 ECHL Kelly Cup Championship and also guided the club to three consecutive trips to the Conference Finals; it was the first time in 15 years and only the second time in ECHL history that a team advanced to the ECHL’s Final Four in three straight seasons.

Thirty-eight (38) of Alaska’s 48 lifetime playoff wins came under Payne’s direction, with his winning percentage in the playoffs (38-21, .644) nearly matching that of his four regular seasons in Alaska. Payne, who owns a 289-142-45 (.654 winning percentage) in seven seasons as an ECHL head coach between Alaska and the Pee Dee (SC) Pride, remains second all-time in ECHL history with 50 postseason victories, 12 of which came during his three years with Pee Dee.

Photo by Peoria Rivermen

Page last modified 07/05/2007
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