The ECHL (formerly known as 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 2026–27 season, 29 of the 32 NHL teams hold affiliations with an ECHL team, with the Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers, and Utah Mammoth having no such franchise affiliation. NHL teams sometimes lend contracted players to ECHL teams with which they have no affiliation agreements for development and increased playing time.
The league regular season typically starts up in October and it ends each April, followed by the Kelly Cup playoffs. The most recent playoff champions are the Florida Everblades after the 2026 postseason.
History The league, formed by Vinton, Virginia oil man Henry Brabham, and for whom the regular season championship trophy, the Brabham Cup, was named, combined teams from the defunct Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) and All-American Hockey League (AAHL), began to play as the East Coast Hockey League in 1988 with five teams – the (Winston-Salem, North) Carolina Thunderbirds (now the Wheeling Nailers); the Erie Panthers (folded in 2011 as the Victoria Salmon Kings); the Johnstown Chiefs (now the Greenville Swamp Rabbits); the Knoxville Cherokees (ceased operations as the Pee Dee Pride in 2005; folded in 2009 following failed relocation efforts); and the Virginia Lancers (now the Trenton Ironhawks).
In 2003, the West Coast Hockey League ceased operations, and the ECHL board of governors approved membership applications from the Anchorage/Alaska Aces, the Bakersfield Condors, the Fresno Falcons, the Idaho Steelheads, the Las Vegas Wranglers, the Long Beach Ice Dogs and the San Diego Gulls as well as from potential teams in Ontario, California, and Reno, Nevada. Alaska, Bakersfield, Fresno, Idaho, Las Vegas, Long Beach, and San Diego began play in the 2003–04 season as expansion teams. In a change reflective of the league's now-nationwide presence, the East Coast Hockey League shortened its name to the orphan initialism ECHL on May 19, 2003. The ECHL reached its largest size to date (31 teams) that season before being reduced to 28 teams for the 2004–05 season.
The ECHL has attempted to be more tech-friendly to its fans. Some improvements on the league's website have included a new schedule and statistics engine powered by League Stat, Inc. (introduced in 2006), internet radio coverage for most teams, and pay-per-view broadcasting of ECHL games through B2 Networks (a subsidiary of America One Broadcasting). In 2008, the league introduced the ECHL toolbar for web browsers, which gave users shortcut access to statistics, scores, transactions, and news updates.
At the annual ECHL Board of Governors meeting on June 15, 2010, in Henderson, Nevada, the Board of Governors approved changes to the names of the conferences and divisions. The former American Conference (comprising eleven East Coast and Midwest teams) was renamed the Eastern Conference, while the National Conference (consisting of eight West Coast teams, including the league's only Canadian team at the time) was re-designated the Western Conference. Within the Eastern Conference, the East Division was renamed the Atlantic Division, and the Western Conference's former West Division was dubbed the Mountain Division.
The league lost its then-only Canadian team with the folding of the Victoria Salmon Kings subsequent to the 2010–11 season, but increased to 20 teams for the 2011–12 season with the addition of the expansion franchise Chicago Express and the Colorado Eagles who previously played in the Central Hockey League.
With the folding of the Chicago Express at the conclusion of the 2011–12 season and the announcement of expansion franchises the Orlando Solar Bears, San Francisco Bulls, Evansville IceMen, and Fort Wayne Komets (the latter two both in Indiana and both from the Central Hockey League (CHL) the league played the 2012–13 season with 23 teams. That number dropped to 22 for the 2013–14 season with the folding of the Trenton Titans and subsequently fell to 21 with the mid-season folding of the San Francisco Bulls on January 27, 2014.
On October 7, 2014, the ECHL announced that the seven remaining active members of the CHL (the Allen Americans, Brampton Beast, Quad City Mallards, Missouri Mavericks, Rapid City Rush, Tulsa Oilers and Wichita Thunder) would be admitted as new members for the 2014–15 season. The addition of the former CHL teams plus the expansion Indy Fuel raised the number of teams to 28 and placed a team in Canada for the first time since 2011.
Before the 2015–16 season, the American Hockey League (AHL) created a Pacific Division, which led the three California ECHL teams to relocate to former AHL cities with the Bakersfield Condors, Ontario Reign, and Stockton Thunder relocating to become the Norfolk Admirals, Manchester Monarchs, and Adirondack Thunder, respectively. By the 2018–19 season, the ECHL lost both the Quad City Mallards and Manchester Monarchs to folding, and the ECHL kept the Quad City Mallards name as a trademark. But the ECHL expanded into other markets recently vacated by the AHL with the Maine Mariners, Newfoundland Growlers, and Worcester Railers.
There were two expansion teams added in 2021–22, the Iowa Heartlanders and the Trois-Rivières Lions, with Iowa going into the Central Division and Trois-Rivières going into the North. This brought the league up to 27 teams. The league added the Savannah Ghost Pirates, bringing the league to 28 teams, and balancing the divisions for the 2022–23 season.
Two expansion teams were added for the 2024–25 season; the Tahoe Knight Monsters, and the Bloomington Bison. The Knight Monsters were placed in the Mountain division, with the Bison placed in the Central division. These additions were intended to bring the ECHL to 30 teams before the Newfoundland Growlers folded late in the 2023–24 ECHL season, but the league plans to expand 32 in the future to match the number of teams in the NHL and the AHL. On April 2, 2024, the league announced that following the termination of the Growlers' membership for failing to fulfill its obligations under league bylaws, the Wheeling Nailers would move to the North Division.
On October 18, 2024, the league announced a new expansion team for Greensboro, North Carolina set to begin play for the 2025–26 ECHL season, which became the Greensboro Gargoyles.
Two expansion teams were announced in 2025: the New Mexico Goatheads will begin play in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, for the 2026–27 ECHL season, and a new incarnation of the Augusta Lynx, which will begin play in Augusta, Georgia for the 2027–28 ECHL season.
On September 9, 2025, the Utah Grizzlies announced that they will relocate to Trenton, New Jersey, for the 2026–27 season and will be known as the Trenton Ironhawks.
On December 26, 2025, a lockout began due to a players strike from the Professional Hockey Players' Association, postponing all scheduled games until a deal was reached on December 27.
On March 9, 2026, the ECHL Board of Governors approved the voluntary suspension of operations for the Iowa Heartlanders. They would finish the remainder of the season, failing to make the playoffs, which they had only done once in their 5 years of play.
Teams Alignment, affiliations, and locations for the 2026–27 season.
Conference Division Team City Arena Capacity Founded Joined Current city since Head coach NHL affiliate AHL affiliateEasternNorthAdirondack Thunder Glens Falls, New York Harding Mazzotti Arena 4,7941990*2015 Sylvain Cloutier New Jersey Devils Utica CometsGreensboro GargoylesGreensboro, North CarolinaFirst Horizon Coliseum 22,00020242025Mitch GiguèreCarolina HurricanesChicago WolvesMaine Mariners Portland, Maine Cross Insurance Arena 6,2061989*20032018 Rick Kowalsky Boston Bruins Providence BruinsNorfolk Admirals Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk Scope 8,7011995*20032015 Jeff Carr IndependentReading Royals Reading, Pennsylvania Santander Arena 6,5001991*2001 Anthony Peters Philadelphia Flyers Lehigh Valley PhantomsTrenton IronhawksTrenton, New JerseyCure Insurance Arena 7,6051981*19882026 Chuck Weber New York IslandersHamilton HammersTrois-Rivières Lions Trois-Rivières, Quebec Colisée Vidéotron 4,3902021 Ron Choules Montreal Canadiens Laval RocketWorcester Railers Worcester, Massachusetts DCU Center 12,1352017 Nick Tuzzolino St. Louis Blues Springfield ThunderbirdsSouthAtlanta Gladiators Duluth, Georgia Gas South Arena 11,3551995*2015 Matt Ginn Nashville Predators Milwaukee AdmiralsFlorida Everblades Estero, Florida Hertz Arena 7,0841998 Brad Ralph Pittsburgh Penguins Wilkes-Barre/Scranton PenguinsGreenville Swamp Rabbits Greenville, South Carolina Bon Secours Wellness Arena 13,9511987*19882010 Chad Costello Los Angeles Kings Ontario Reign Jacksonville Icemen Jacksonville, Florida VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena 13,1411992*20122017 Sean Teakle Minnesota Wild Iowa WildOrlando Solar Bears Orlando, Florida Kia Center 17,3532012 Matt Macdonald Tampa Bay Lightning Syracuse CrunchSavannah Ghost Pirates Savannah, Georgia Enmarket Arena 7,4852022 Jared Staal Florida Panthers Charlotte CheckersSouth Carolina Stingrays North Charleston, South Carolina North Charleston Coliseum 10,5371993 Jesse Kallechy Washington Capitals Hershey BearsWesternCentralBloomington Bison Bloomington, IllinoisGrossinger Motors Arena 7,0002024Phillip BarskiWinnipeg JetsManitoba MooseCincinnati Cyclones Cincinnati, Ohio Heritage Bank Center 14,4531995*2001 Riley Weselowski Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto MarliesFort Wayne Komets Fort Wayne, Indiana Allen County War Memorial Coliseum 10,4801985*2012 Ben Boudreau Edmonton Oilers Bakersfield CondorsIndy Fuel Fishers, Indiana Fishers Event Center 7,5002014 Duncan Dalmao Chicago Blackhawks Rockford IceHogsKalamazoo Wings Kalamazoo, Michigan Wings Event Center 5,1131999*2009 Joel Martin Vancouver Canucks Abbotsford CanucksToledo Walleye Toledo, Ohio Huntington Center 7,3891991 Pat Mikesch Detroit Red Wings Grand Rapids GriffinsWheeling Nailers Wheeling, West Virginia WesBanco Arena 5,4061981*19881992 Nate DiCasmirro Columbus Blue Jackets Cleveland MonstersMountainAllen Americans Allen, Texas Credit Union of Texas Event Center 6,27520092014 Steve Martinson Ottawa Senators Belleville SenatorsIdaho Steelheads Boise, Idaho Idaho Central Arena 5,00219972003 Everett Sheen Dallas Stars Texas StarsKansas City Mavericks Independence, Missouri Cable Dahmer Arena 5,80020092014 Tad O'Had Seattle Kraken Coachella Valley FirebirdsRapid City Rush Rapid City, South Dakota The Monument 7,50020082014 Dave Smith Calgary Flames Calgary WranglersNew Mexico GoatheadsRio Rancho, New MexicoRio Rancho Events Center 6,00020252026 Zack StortiniColorado AvalancheColorado EaglesTahoe Knight Monsters Stateline, Nevada Tahoe Blue Event Center 4,2002024 Connor Jones Vegas Golden Knights Henderson Silver KnightsTulsa Oilers Tulsa, Oklahoma BOK Center 17,09619922014 Rob Murray Anaheim Ducks San Diego GullsWichita Thunder Wichita, Kansas Intrust Bank Arena 13,45019922014 Bruce Ramsay San Jose Sharks San Jose Barracuda
Future teams