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The 2015–16 ECHL season was the 28th season of the
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 ...
. The regular season schedule ran from October 16, 2015 to April 9, 2016 with the
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. Th ...
playoffs to follow. Twenty-eight teams in 21 states and one Canadian province each played a 72-game schedule. The league alignment was significantly altered before the season when the
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
announced the formation of a Pacific Division on January 30, 2015 displacing the ECHL teams that had been in California markets.


League business


Team changes

As part of a massive market swap with the
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
, the three California based ECHL franchises moved east into markets that the AHL had vacated. *The
Bakersfield Condors The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team based in Bakersfield, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home games at Dignity Healt ...
relocated to
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
to become the Norfolk Admirals. Norfolk hosted an AHL team of the same name the previous season. The Condors' franchise was purchased by their
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
affiliate, the
Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...
, which replaced the Condors with team of the same name to play in the AHL. *The
Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena. The fra ...
relocated to
Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...
to become the Manchester Monarchs, replacing an AHL team of the same name. As both the Reign and Monarchs, in both their AHL and ECHL incarnations, are under the same ownership structure in the
Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...
organization, this move effectively amounts to the two franchises trading names. *The Stockton Thunder relocated to
Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a City (New York), city in Warren County, New York, Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls, New York metropolitan area, Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,83 ...
to become the
Adirondack Thunder The Adirondack Thunder are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL that began play in the 2015–16 season. The team is based in Glens Falls, New York, and affiliated with the NHL's New Jersey Devils and AHL's Utica Comets. The Thunder play t ...
, replacing the Adirondack Flames of the AHL who were relocated to Stockton. The Thunder were purchased by ownership group of the NHL's
Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...
, who already owned the Adirondack Flames, and the Thunder then become affiliated with their new AHL team, the Stockton Heat. Two South Division teams changed names to reflect their regions: * The Greenville, South Carolina, franchise, formerly known as the Road Warriors, changed its name to the
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 Gr ...
, a reference to the Swamp Rabbit Trail in the city. * The Duluth, Georgia, franchise, formerly known as the Gwinnett Gladiators, changed its name to the Atlanta Gladiators to reflect the
Atlanta metropolitan area Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Roswell metropolitan statistical area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the sixt ...
instead of just
Gwinnett County Gwinnett County ( ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. It forms part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, being located about northeast of Atlanta city limits. In 2020, the population was 957,062, making it the ...
.


Conference realignment

Due to the relocation of the former Californian franchises, the league's conference alignment was significantly altered. ECHL brought back the Midwest and South Divisions to increase the number of divisions from four to six, whereas the number of teams per division was reduced from seven to either four or five. With fewer teams on the Pacific coast, the former Pacific Division was renamed as the West Division. The Central division lost three teams: Rapid City to the West, Brampton to the North, and Quad City to the Midwest. Former North Division teams Cincinnati, Evansville, Fort Wayne and Indy joined Quad City in the new Midwest Division. All former East Division teams except Elmira and Reading are realigned to the new South Division with the relocated teams Adirondack, Manchester and Norfolk being placed in the East Division.


Affiliation changes

For the 2015–16 season, all 28 ECHL teams are only allowed to have a single affiliation with an NHL team leading to many affiliation changes. :* – indicates team previously had multiple NHL/AHL affiliations and were dropped due to the new single affiliation rule


Annual Board of Governors meeting

The annual ECHL Board of Governors meeting was held at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, in June 2015. The ECHL Board of Governors unanimously elected
Cincinnati Cyclones The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heri ...
' president Ray Harris as chairman replacing Atlanta Gladiators' president Steve Chapman who had served as chairman for the previous seven seasons. The Board also approved of several rule changes including the change to a 3-on-3
overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...
for the full five-minute duration. If still tied after overtime the
shootout A shootout, also called a firefight, gunfight, or gun battle, is a confrontation in which parties armed with firearms exchange gunfire. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used in a non-military context or to ...
is decreased to three shooters per side before entering the "sudden death" format. It was later announced that league owners voted unanimously that all 28 ECHL franchises should only allow for a single affiliation with a parent NHL team in order to give an opportunity for previously unaffiliated teams (such as those added from the
Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
in 2014) to gain NHL prospects.


2016 CCM/ECHL Hockey Heritage Week

As in 2012 and 2014, the ECHL will not have a traditional
All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...
. Instead, they will hold a Hockey Heritage Week hosted by the
Kalamazoo Wings The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Western Conference, Central Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Event Center. They are the affiliate ...
at the Wings Event Center in the city of
Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...
from February 1–6, 2016. The week's theme is Past, Present, and Future and includes Hall of Fame exhibits, K-Wings throwback jerseys, alumni reunions, a youth hockey showcase, and two games between the Wings and the Toledo Walleye.


2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs format

At the end of the regular season the top team in each division will qualify for the 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs and be seeded either 1, 2, or 3 based on highest point total earned in the season. Then the five non-division winning teams with the highest point totals in each conference will qualify for the playoffs and be seeded 4 through 8. The Kelly Cup final will pit the Eastern Conference champion against the Western Conference champion. All four rounds will be a best-of-seven format.


Standings

Final standings.
;Eastern Conference
;Western Conference - clinched playoff spot, - clinched regular season division title, - Brabham Cup (regular season) champion


Postseason


Awards


All-ECHL teams

All-First Team * Josh Robinson (G) – Missouri Mavericks * Mathew Maione (D) – Wheeling Nailers * Adrian Veideman (D) – Colorado Eagles * Shane Berschbach (F) – Toledo Walleye * Chad Costello (F) – Allen Americans * Trent Daavettila (F) – Colorado Eagles All-Second Team *
Jeff Lerg Jeff Lerg (born April 9, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey Goaltender (ice hockey), goaltender who played in the North American minor league, most notably for the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL, and in Europe. Playing career Prior ...
(G) – Toledo Walleye * Adam Comrie (D) – Reading Royals * William Wrenn (D) – Alaska Aces * Riley Brace (F) – Wheeling Nailers *Jesse Root (F) – Missouri Mavericks * Shawn Szydlowski (F) – Fort Wayne Komets All-Rookie Team * Vitek Vanecek (G) – South Carolina Stingrays * Jacob MacDonald (D) – Elmira Jackals * Ben Marshall (D) – Indy Fuel * Dan DeSalvo (F) – Tulsa Oilers * Cason Hohmann (F) – Elmira Jackals * Matt Willows (F) – Florida Everblades


See also

* ECHL All-Star Game *
List of ECHL seasons This is a list of season (sport), seasons of the ECHL since its inception: Notes References External links ECHL official website
{{Authority control ECHL seasons, *list ...
* 2015 in sports * 2016 in sports


References


External links


ECHL website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Echl Season 2015-16 2015-16 3 3