ECHL facts for kids

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ECHL

Sport	Ice hockey
Founded	1988
No. of teams	27
Country	United States (26 teams) Canada (1 team)
Headquarters	Shrewsbury, New Jersey, U.S.
Most recent champion(s)	Florida Everblades (3rd title)
Most titles	Alaska Aces Florida Everblades Hampton Roads Admirals South Carolina Stingrays (3 each)
TV partner(s)	Canada (English): Sportsnet/Sportsnet One Canada (French): TVA Sports United States: NHL Network Streaming: FloSports

The ECHL (which stands for East Coast Hockey League) is a professional ice hockey league. It has teams across the United States and Canada. The league is based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey. Think of it as a stepping stone for players. It's one level below the American Hockey League (AHL).

The ECHL and AHL are the only minor leagues officially recognized by the National Hockey League (NHL). This means if an NHL team signs a new player, they can send them to play in either the ECHL or the AHL. This helps players get more experience. Many players from the ECHL have gone on to play in the NHL. Over 739 players have made it to the NHL after playing in the ECHL.

For the 2023–24 season, most NHL teams had a partnership with an ECHL team. Only a few NHL teams did not have an official ECHL partner. Sometimes, NHL teams will lend players to ECHL teams even without a formal partnership. This helps the players develop their skills and get more playing time.

The ECHL regular season usually starts in October and finishes in April. After that, teams compete in the Kelly Cup playoffs. The Florida Everblades were the champions in 2023.

History of the ECHL
Teams in the ECHL
Kelly Cup Playoff Format
ECHL Hall of Fame
See also

History of the ECHL

The ECHL started in 1988. It was formed by combining teams from two older leagues. These were the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) and the All-American Hockey League (AAHL). When it began, there were only five teams. These original teams included the Carolina Thunderbirds and the Johnstown Chiefs.

In 2003, another league, the West Coast Hockey League, closed down. Many of its teams joined the ECHL. This made the ECHL much bigger. It now had teams all across the country. Because of this, the league changed its name. It went from "East Coast Hockey League" to just "ECHL". This showed that it was no longer just on the East Coast. That season, the ECHL had its largest number of teams ever, with 31.

The ECHL has worked to make things better for its fans. They improved their website. They also added internet radio for most teams. You can even watch ECHL games online. In 2008, they launched a special browser toolbar. This gave fans quick access to scores and news.

ECHL action in October 2012. The Kalamazoo Wings play against the Toledo Walleye.

In 2010, the league changed the names of its conferences and divisions. The American Conference became the Eastern Conference. The National Conference became the Western Conference. This helped organize the growing number of teams.

The league lost its only Canadian team in 2011. But it grew to 20 teams in the 2011–12 season. New teams like the Chicago Express joined. The Colorado Eagles also came from another league.

More changes happened in the following years. Some teams left, and new ones joined. By the 2012–13 season, there were 23 teams. In 2014, seven teams from the Central Hockey League (CHL) joined the ECHL. This made the league even bigger, with 28 teams. It also brought a Canadian team back into the league.

Around 2015, the AHL created a new division in California. This caused some ECHL teams in California to move. They relocated to cities that used to have AHL teams. For example, the Bakersfield Condors moved to Norfolk, Virginia. By the 2018–19 season, the ECHL had expanded into other areas. These were also places where the AHL had recently left.

In 2021–22, two new teams joined: the Iowa Heartlanders and the Trois-Rivières Lions. This brought the league to 27 teams. The Savannah Ghost Pirates joined in 2022. This made the league 28 teams strong.

Two more teams are set to join for the 2024–25 season. These are the Tahoe Knight Monsters and the Bloomington Bison. The league hopes to grow to 32 teams in the future. However, in April 2024, the Newfoundland Growlers team left the league. This brought the total number of teams back down to 27.

Teams in the ECHL

Here are the teams playing in the ECHL for the 2023–24 season. The table shows their location, home arena, and which NHL and AHL teams they are connected with.

2023–24 ECHL Teams

Overview of ECHL teams
Conference	Division	Team	City	Arena	Founded	Joined	Head coach	NHL affiliate	AHL affiliate
Eastern	North	Adirondack Thunder	Glens Falls, New York	Cool Insuring Arena	1990*		Pete MacArthur	New Jersey Devils	Utica Comets
		Maine Mariners	Portland, Maine	Cross Insurance Arena	1989*	2003	Terrence Wallin	Boston Bruins	Providence Bruins
		Newfoundland Growlers†	St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador	Mary Brown's Centre	2018		Matt Cooke	Toronto Maple Leafs	Toronto Marlies
		Norfolk Admirals	Norfolk, Virginia	Norfolk Scope	1995*	2003	Jeff Carr	Winnipeg Jets (official) Carolina Hurricanes (working agreement)	Manitoba Moose
		Reading Royals	Reading, Pennsylvania	Santander Arena	1991*		James Henry	Philadelphia Flyers	Lehigh Valley Phantoms
		Trois-Rivières Lions	Trois-Rivières, Quebec	Colisée Vidéotron	2021		Ron Choules	Montreal Canadiens	Laval Rocket
		Worcester Railers	Worcester, Massachusetts	DCU Center	2017		Jordan Smotherman	New York Islanders	Bridgeport Islanders
	South	Atlanta Gladiators	Duluth, Georgia	Gas South Arena	1995*		Jeff Pyle	Nashville Predators	Milwaukee Admirals
		Florida Everblades	Estero, Florida	Hertz Arena	1998		Brad Ralph	Florida Panthers	Charlotte Checkers
		Greenville Swamp Rabbits	Greenville, South Carolina	Bon Secours Wellness Arena	1987*	1988	Andrew Lord	Los Angeles Kings	Ontario Reign
		Jacksonville Icemen	Jacksonville, Florida	VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena	1992*	2012	Nick Luukko	Buffalo Sabres	Rochester Americans
		Orlando Solar Bears	Orlando, Florida	Kia Center	2012		Matt Carkner	Tampa Bay Lightning	Syracuse Crunch
		Savannah Ghost Pirates	Savannah, Georgia	Enmarket Arena	2022		Rick Bennett	Vegas Golden Knights	Henderson Silver Knights
		South Carolina Stingrays	North Charleston, South Carolina	North Charleston Coliseum	1993		Ryan Blair	Washington Capitals	Hershey Bears
Western	Central	Cincinnati Cyclones	Cincinnati, Ohio	Heritage Bank Center	1995*		Jason Payne	New York Rangers	Hartford Wolf Pack
		Fort Wayne Komets	Fort Wayne, Indiana	Allen County War Memorial Coliseum	1985*	2012	Jesse Kallechy	Edmonton Oilers	Bakersfield Condors
		Indy Fuel	Indianapolis, Indiana	Indiana Farmers Coliseum	2014		Duncan Dalmao	Chicago Blackhawks	Rockford IceHogs
		Iowa Heartlanders	Coralville, Iowa	Xtream Arena	2021		Derek Damon	Minnesota Wild	Iowa Wild
		Kalamazoo Wings	Kalamazoo, Michigan	Wings Event Center	1999*	2009	Joel Martin	Vancouver Canucks	Abbotsford Canucks
		Toledo Walleye	Toledo, Ohio	Huntington Center	1991		Dan Watson	Detroit Red Wings	Grand Rapids Griffins
		Wheeling Nailers	Wheeling, West Virginia	WesBanco Arena	1981*	1988	Derek Army	Pittsburgh Penguins	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
	Mountain	Allen Americans	Allen, Texas	Credit Union of Texas Event Center	2009	2014	Chad Costello	Ottawa Senators	Belleville Senators
		Idaho Steelheads	Boise, Idaho	Idaho Central Arena	1997	2003	Everett Sheen	Dallas Stars	Texas Stars
		Kansas City Mavericks	Independence, Missouri	Cable Dahmer Arena	2009	2014	Tad O'Had	Seattle Kraken	Coachella Valley Firebirds
		Rapid City Rush	Rapid City, South Dakota	The Monument	2008	2014	Scott Burt	Calgary Flames	Calgary Wranglers
		Tulsa Oilers	Tulsa, Oklahoma	BOK Center	1992	2014	Rob Murray	Anaheim Ducks	San Diego Gulls
		Utah Grizzlies	West Valley City, Utah	Maverik Center	1981*	1988	Ryan Kinasewich	Colorado Avalanche	Colorado Eagles
		Wichita Thunder	Wichita, Kansas	Intrust Bank Arena	1992	2014	Bruce Ramsay	San Jose Sharks	San Jose Barracuda

Notes

An asterisk (*) means the team moved from another city.
A dagger (†) means the team stopped playing before the season ended.

Future ECHL Teams

The ECHL plans to add more teams in the future. Here are the teams expected to join soon:

Planned ECHL teams
Team	City	Arena	Founded	Joining	Head coach	NHL affiliate	AHL affiliate
Tahoe Knight Monsters	Stateline, Nevada	Tahoe Blue Event Center	2024	TBD	TBD	TBD
Bloomington Bison	Bloomington, Illinois	Grossinger Motors Arena	2024	TBD	TBD	TBD

Teams that want to join the ECHL or have paused operations must report to the league each year. This helps them keep their right to be part of the ECHL. The league once limited itself to 26 teams. But now, the goal is to grow to 32 teams. This would match the number of teams in the NHL and AHL.

Timeline of ECHL Teams

This timeline shows when different teams have been part of the ECHL. It includes current, former, and future teams.

Current member Former member Future member Suspended member

Kelly Cup Playoff Format

The Kelly Cup is the championship trophy for the ECHL. The playoffs decide which team wins it. The format for the playoffs has changed over the years.

For the 2012–13 season, eight teams from each conference made the playoffs. Division winners got top spots. All playoff rounds were best-of-seven series. This means a team had to win four games to advance.

Later, for the 2014–15 season, the top four teams in each division qualified. The first two rounds were played within those divisions.

For the 2015–16 season, the league had six divisions. The top team from each division automatically qualified. They were seeded 1, 2, or 3 based on their points. Then, the next five teams with the most points in each conference also made it. All rounds continued to be best-of-seven.

Since the 2016–17 season, the league went back to four divisions. The top four teams in each division make the playoffs. They play within their division for the first two rounds. After that, the winners play in the conference finals. Finally, the two conference champions play for the Kelly Cup.

ECHL Hall of Fame

The ECHL started its Hall of Fame in 2008. This was to celebrate the league's 20th anniversary. It honors players, coaches, and other people who have done great things for the ECHL.