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ECHL
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The league serves as a farm system to the AHL and National Hockey League (NHL). The ECHL and the AHL are the only minor leagues recognized by the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), meaning any player signed to an entry-level NHL contract and designated for assignment must report to a club in either the ECHL or the AHL. Additionally, the league's players are represented by the Professional Hockey Players' Association (PHPA) in negotiations with the ECHL itself. At least 739 players have played at least one game in the NHL after appearing in the ECHL. As of the 2024–25 season, 30 of the 32 NHL teams held affiliations with an ECHL team, with only the Columbus Blue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florida Everblades
The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) starting in the 2024–25 ECHL season. Their home games are played at Hertz Arena. The Everblades were founded in 1998. They play in the South Division of the Eastern Conference in the ECHL. They have failed to qualify for the playoffs just once in team history (2013–14) and have made seven appearances in the Kelly Cup finals, winning in 2012, 2022, 2023, and 2024; the latter three appearances constituted the first three-peat in ECHL history. History The team was founded in 1998 by Craig Brush, Peter Karmanos Jr., and Thomas Thewes and was named based on the Florida Everglades. The Everblades' logo featu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnstown Chiefs
The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League (now ECHL) when the league was formed. The Chiefs lasted for 22 years in Johnstown, and was the last of the founding ECHL teams playing under its original name and in its original city. The Chiefs relocated to Greenville, South Carolina, following the completion of the 2010 season. Franchise history The owners originally wanted to name the team the Jets in honor of a team that had played in Johnstown from 1950 to 1977, mostly in the Eastern Hockey League. However, the old Jets' former owners still held the trademark for the name and refused to allow the new team to use it. A contest was held by the owners, allowing the people of Johnstown to vote for the new team name. The cult hockey movie '' Slap Shot'' had been filmed in Johnstown, and featured a m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wheeling Nailers
The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League. The Nailers are the oldest surviving minor league franchise below the level of the American Hockey League, with unbroken continuity of franchise and never having missed a season of play. Franchise history The Nailers began play in 1981 in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League as the Carolina Thunderbirds based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Thunderbirds won four consecutive regular season titles and were three-time Bob Payne Trophy winners as league champions. In 1987, the ACHL folded and the team joined the All-American Hockey League for the 1987–88 season. The Thunderbirds, Virginia Lancers, and Johnstown Chiefs then became the basis for the East Coast Hockey League, now known as the ECHL. The Thunderbirds lost the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carolina Thunderbirds
The Carolina Thunderbirds were a professional ice hockey team located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The Thunderbirds played their home games at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum before the arena was demolished in 1989. The team played in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League from 1981 to 1987, the All-American Hockey League during 1987–88 and finally moved into the newly created East Coast Hockey League in 1988. The Carolina Thunderbirds were one of five teams that played during the inaugural season of East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). The Thunderbirds won the first ever ECHL championship and were awarded the Riley Cup for the 1988–89 ECHL season. The team changed its name to the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds before the start of 1989–90 season and the team remained in the ECHL until the end of the 1991–92 season when it was announced by co-owner Ed Broyhill that Winston-Salem would move to West Virginia to play as the Wheeling Thunderbirds. Team ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greenville Swamp Rabbits
The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are a professional ice hockey team located in Greenville, South Carolina. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and play their home games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Greenville. The franchise had previously played as the Johnstown Chiefs from the ECHL's inception in 1988 until the team's relocation in 2010 and subsequently as the Greenville Road Warriors until being re-branded as the Swamp Rabbits in 2015. The Swamp Rabbits are the second ECHL franchise to play in Greenville, as the city hosted the Greenville Grrrowl from 1998 until 2006. Team history Greenville Road Warriors (2010–2015) The franchise was founded as the Johnstown Chiefs prior to the 1987–88 All-American Hockey League season. The next season, the franchise became one of the founding members of the East Coast Hockey League, which would be rebranded as the ECHL in 2003. The Chiefs would flounder for several years as the owners of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kelly Cup
The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. The current cup is named after Patrick J. Kelly, the league's first commissioner. The cup is loaned to the winning team for one year and is returned at the start of the following year's playoffs, although the trophy itself has been replaced three times with the first two iterations preserved in the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player award is also given out as part of the Kelly Cup Championship ceremonies. Nick Vitucci, Dave Gagnon and Cam Johnson are the only players to win the award on multiple occasions, with Johnson the only player to win the award in consecutive years. Nineteen different teams have won the ECHL Championship, with nine (Alaska, Allen, Cincinnati, Colorado, Florida, Hampton Roads, Idaho, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utah Grizzlies
The Utah Grizzlies are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Franchise history The current Utah Grizzlies franchise started in 1981 as the Nashville South Stars in Nashville, Tennessee, in the Central Hockey League. Henry Brabham then took over the team in 1983 and relocated them to Vinton, Virginia mid-season, to become the Virginia Lancers. Brabham and the Lancers were then one of the founding members of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) in 1988. The franchise was sold and relocated several times until it went dormant after the 2002–03 season. After the American Hockey League (AHL) incarnation of the Grizzlies suspended operations, David Elmore and Donna Tuttle bought the rights to the dormant ECHL franchise and moved the team to the E Center to replace the previous Grizzlies franchise. Prior to the 2013–14 season, their NHL affiliate Calgary Flames changed their affiliation to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoria Salmon Kings
The Victoria Salmon Kings were a professional ice hockey team based in Victoria, British Columbia, and members of the ECHL. The team debuted in the 2004–05 season and folded after the 2010–11 season. The Chilliwack Bruins of the major junior Western Hockey League relocated to become the Victoria Royals and the two teams could not simultaneously operate. They played at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. For most of their history, they were affiliated with the Vancouver Canucks. History Despite its long and distinguished hockey history (the Victoria Cougars won the Stanley Cup in 1925) Victoria was the largest Canadian city without either professional or major junior hockey when the major junior Western Hockey League's Victoria Cougars moved to Prince George in 1994. This left the Tier II Junior 'A' Victoria Salsa (later called the Victoria Grizzlies) as the highest level of hockey in Victoria. By this time, it had become evident that the 50-year-old Victoria Mem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erie Panthers
The Erie Panthers were a professional ice hockey team, and one of the founding members in the ECHL, East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, from 1988 to 1996, they were one of the most prolific teams in the ECHL. The Panthers were known for their ability to score goals quickly and often, as well as for the over-aggressive style of play that led to an abundance of fights. They currently hold records in 15 different categories in the ECHL and are in the top five of 38 different categories. History The Panthers were created by Henry Brabham, who was also an intricate part of the creation of the East Coast Hockey League, ECHL itself. Erie was chosen as a location due to the success of the former Erie Blades, Erie Golden Blades. The Panthers enjoyed success earlier on in their existence with five straight playoff appearances. Though never winning the league championship, the team was named the regular season champs for the 1989–90 season. The next three years wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trois-Rivières Lions
The Trois-Rivières Lions ( French: ''Lions de Trois-Rivières'') are a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. The team began play in the 2021–22 season, with home games held at Colisée Vidéotron. They are affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) and Laval Rocket of the American Hockey League (AHL). The Lions won the Kelly Cup in the 2024–25 ECHL season. History With construction beginning in early 2020 to replace the aging Colisée de Trois-Rivières, Dean MacDonald, majority owner of the Newfoundland Growlers (through his group Deacon Sports and Entertainment (DSE)), came to an agreement with Trois-Rivières city officials to place an ECHL franchise in Colisée Vidéotron for the 2021–22 season. On November 30, the team finalized its lease agreement. Subsequently, the Lions organization was approved by the league's board of governors on January 12, 2021. That same month, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2024–25 ECHL Season
The 2024–25 ECHL season was the 37th season of the ECHL. The regular season began on October 18, 2024, and ended on April 13, 2025, with the 2025 Kelly Cup playoffs to follow. Twenty-nine teams affiliated with an NHL team in 22 states and one Canadian province played 72 games. On June 7, the Trois-Rivières Lions won their first Kelly Cup championship over the Toledo Walleye in five games. League changes The league will have two new teams this season: the Tahoe Knight Monsters and the Bloomington Bison. Coaching changes Affiliation changes Standings Eastern Conference – clinched playoff spot, – clinched regular season division title, – Brabham Cup (regular season) champion ''– indicates team has been eliminated from playoff contention'' Western Conference Postseason The top four teams in each division at the end of the regular season advanced to the 2025 Kelly Cup playoffs and were seeded one through four based on their en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
