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East Coast Hockey League
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ECHL and the AHL are the only minor leagues recognized by the collective bargaining agreement between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association, 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 in negotiations with the ECHL itself. Some 662 players have played at least one game in the NHL after appearing in the ECHL. For the 2022–23 season, 28 of the 32 NHL teams have affiliations with an ECHL team with only the Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Vancouver Canucks, and Winnipeg Jets having no official ECHL ...
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Florida Everblades
The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliated with the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL) starting in the 2022–23 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 five appearances in the Kelly Cup finals, winning in 2012 and 2022. 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 features a gator-head design fused in the form of an ice skate. Barnstorm Creative Group, a Vancouver graphic design company, designed the logo. Barnstorm was cont ...
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Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce Boudreau is the head coach, Jim Rutherford serves as the president of hockey operations, and Patrik Allvin serves as the general manager. The Canucks joined the league in 1970 as an expansion team along with the Buffalo Sabres. In its NHL history, the team has advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals three times, losing to the New York Islanders in 1982, the New York Rangers in 1994 and the Boston Bruins in 2011. They have won the Presidents' Trophy in back-to-back seasons as the team with the league's best regular-season record in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. They won three division titles as a member of the Smythe Division from 1974 to 1993, and seven titles as a member of the Northwest Division from 1998 to 2013. The Canucks, alon ...
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Pee Dee Pride
The Pee Dee Pride, known as the Florence Pride for the 2003–04 ECHL season, were a professional minor-league hockey team that was based in Florence, South Carolina, where they played in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) from 1997 until 2005. The team came to Florence as a relocation of the Knoxville Cherokees, one of the five charter members of the ECHL which was originally housed in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Pride played at the Florence Civic Center, which seats 7,426 fans. The name of the organization comes from the region of South Carolina in which Florence is located, known as the "Pee Dee" region. The team's mascot was Paws the Lion. The organization never won the Kelly Cup, the ECHL championship trophy. However, the Pride were previous winners of the Palmetto Cup for best team in South Carolina, and the Brabham Cup for best regular season record. In-state rivals of the Pride included the South Carolina Stingrays, the Greenville Grrrowl, and the Columbia Inferno. Aft ...
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Knoxville Cherokees
The Knoxville Cherokees were an East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. History The franchise was formed in 1988 along with the ECHL. The team moved to Florence, South Carolina in 1997 and was renamed the Pee Dee Pride. :Market previously served by: Knoxville Knights of the EHL (1961-68) :Franchise replaced by: Knoxville Speed of the UHL (1999-02) Season-by-Season record Note: ''GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses/Shootout losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes'' Playoffs *1988–89: Lost to Johnstown 4-0 in semifinals. *1989–90: Did not qualify. *1990–91: Lost to Louisville 3-1 in quarterfinals. *1991–92: Did not qualify. *1992–93: Did not qualify. *1993–94: Lost to Louisville 3-1 in first round. *1994–95: Lost to Roanoke 3-1 in first round. *1995–96: Defeated Nashville 3-2 in first round; lost to Toledo 3-0 in quarterfinals. Team records :Goals: ...
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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 the ...
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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 that 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 min ...
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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 Memorial A ...
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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 ...
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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 ECHL ...
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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 histor ...
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All-American Hockey League
The All-American Hockey League (AAHL) was a minor professional hockey league formed in 1986 after the Continental Hockey League (CnHL) ceased operations. The league was created by the CnHL teams Danville, Dayton, and Troy adding the Downriver Stars and the Jackson All-Americans. In 1987, the AAHL absorbed the two remaining teams from Atlantic Coast Hockey League. After a single season in the AAHL, Carolina, Johnstown, and Virginia left the league to form the East Coast Hockey League. The AAHL only lasted one more season and folded after the 1988–89 season. Teams AAHL teams * Carolina Thunderbirds (1987–88) – left league to become a founding team in the ECHL. * Danville Fighting Saints (1986–89) – ceased operations after the 1988–89 AAHL season * Dayton Jets (1986–87) – merged with Troy Sabres to form Miami Valley Sabres * Downriver Stars (1986–87) – became Michigan Stars the following season; folded due to bankruptcy during 1987–88 AAHL season after 14 ...
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Atlantic Coast Hockey League (1981–87)
The Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) was a minor league hockey organization that operated between 1981 and 1987. The league was founded by Bill Coffey. The Bob Payne Trophy was awarded to the team who won the league playoff championship. According to a 1985 ''Montreal Gazette'' article, rookies were paid "$150 a week plus $35 for a victory" and veterans were paid "as much as $300 a week." League regulations also said that half the roster (eight out of fifteen players) must be rookie Americans. Formation The ACHL's roots can be traced back to the former Eastern Hockey League (EHL) of the late 1970s and early 1980s. With a meeting of several EHL owners, the league decided to fold on July 19, 1981, and reorganize as the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. Teams and cities that were previous members of the Eastern Hockey League were interested in rejoining the league. Because the Mohawk Valley team being the most northern, the league was interested in inviting a sixth team to bridge th ...
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