The ECHL is a professional ice hockey minor 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 Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho, and a member of the ECHL. The Steelheads play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference since the 2016–17 season.
The Chicago Wolves are a semi-professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) currently operating as the lone independent franchise in the league. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois, and are owned by Chicago business owners Don Levin and Buddy Meyers.
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 Pee Dee Pride, known as the Florence Pride for the 2003–04 ECHL season, was 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 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 of the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League, and the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.
The Colorado Eagles are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Loveland, Colorado. The Eagles play in the Pacific Division of the American Hockey League.
The Stockton Thunder were a minor league professional ice hockey team that was based in Stockton, California, and a member of the ECHL. The Stockton Arena was their home ice, with a capacity of 9,737. The team was an affiliate team of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League in their final two seasons. The team was purchased by the Calgary Flames and relocated to Glens Falls, New York, as the Flames relocated their American Hockey League team to Stockton to become the Stockton Heat.
The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional 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 Heritage Bank Center. The Cyclones are a minor league affiliate of the New York Rangers and the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Richard Joseph Rypien was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who spent parts of six seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Vancouver Canucks from 2005 to 2011. After a major junior career of four years with the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League (WHL), he was signed to a professional contract by the minor league Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League (AHL) in 2005. The following season, he signed with the Canucks. He spent six years with the organization, splitting time between the Canucks and Moose, their AHL affiliate. A fourth-line player in the NHL, he was known for his hitting and fighting abilities, though his size was not typical of an enforcer.
Robert McVicar is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goalie who played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Vancouver Canucks during the 2005–06 season. McVicar played major junior for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League before being selected by the Canucks in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Turning professional in 2003 he played in the minor American Hockey League and ECHL before being called up and playing his lone NHL game on December 1, 2005 against the Edmonton Oilers, appearing for 3 minutes. He remained in the minor leagues for a further four seasons before retiring from hockey in 2009 and became a financial planner and stockbroker.
Alexandre Ménard-Burrows is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League. Playing as left winger he spent the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), playing for the Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators. He was known for playing in the style of an agitator before developing into a skilled, top line fixture. He is also regarded for his remarkable ascension to the NHL from being an undrafted player in the ECHL. After a two-year career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), he played in the minor leagues for three seasons. He was signed by the Vancouver Canucks in 2005 from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. Burrows established himself as a checking forward with the Canucks in his first three NHL seasons before emerging as a scorer with four consecutive 25-plus-goal seasons from 2008–09 to 2011–12.
Jesse Schultz is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger. He is currently an unrestricted free agent who most recently played under contract with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.
The 2009–10 ECHL season was the 22nd season of the ECHL. It ran from October, 2009 until April, 2010, followed by the Kelly Cup playoffs which lasted until May 21, 2010 as the Cincinnati Cyclones won their second Kelly Cup championship in three years by defeating the Idaho Steelheads in five games. The league welcomed two franchises to the league for the 2009–10 season with the return of the Toledo Storm as the Toledo Walleye, who will play in the Lucas County Arena in Toledo, Ohio, after a two-year suspension of the franchise to allow for the construction of their new arena, and the admission of the Kalamazoo Wings as an expansion franchise who will play in Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The ECHL held its annual All-Star Game and Skills Challenge on January 19–20 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California, home of the Ontario Reign.
Tim Smith is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who last played with High1 of the Asia League Ice Hockey.
The 2011–12 Vancouver Canucks season was the 42nd season in the modern Canucks history. The Vancouver Canucks were the defending Western Conference champions and three time defending Northwest Division champions. The Canucks opened the regular season against the Pittsburgh Penguins at home on October 6. Their final regular season game was held at Rogers Arena against the Edmonton Oilers on April 7, 2012. The Canucks entered the season expected to again contend for their first ever Stanley Cup. The Canucks struggled out of the gate, hovering around .500 until roughly the 20 game mark due to weak defensive play and a slow start from Roberto Luongo. The Canucks then rebounded, playing their best hockey of the season from the end of November until the beginning of January. The team dominated much like they did the season prior during this stretch, as goals came in bunches and the offense was backed up by strong goaltending from the tandem of Luongo and Cory Schneider. The peak of the Canucks' season came on January 7, 2012, in a game against the Boston Bruins, a 2011 Stanley Cup Finals rematch. The Canucks prevailed 4–3 in a hard-fought playoff atmosphere, and they seemed to state to the hockey world that they would be heard from again come playoff time. The winning ways continued for the rest of the season, but the team did not play with the same heart they played with that January afternoon again. The Canucks often played down to their competition, barely beating some of the weakest teams in the league as the offense seemed to disappear. The Canucks pulled a shocking deal at the trade deadline, trading blue-chip prospect Cody Hodgson to the Buffalo Sabres for a skilled, but unproven prospect Zack Kassian. While Kassian should eventually emerge as a solid NHLer, this deal was probably pulled too soon as the offensive mojo disappeared but the team was lucky to have outstanding goaltending that led them to their second consecutive Presidents' Trophy on the final day of the regular season when they defeated the Edmonton Oilers. Despite entering the playoffs as the top seed in the Western Conference, the Canucks were upset in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in five games by the eight-seeded Los Angeles Kings. This was the third consecutive season the Canucks lost in the playoffs to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion.
The Norfolk Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, the team plays its home games at the Norfolk Scope. The Admirals replaced the American Hockey League team of the same name, which played from 2000 until 2015, after which they moved to San Diego, California, and became the current incarnation of the San Diego Gulls.
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. The Thunder play their home games at the Cool Insuring Arena.
The Maine Mariners are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL that began play in the 2018–19 season. Based in Portland, Maine, the team plays their home games at Cross Insurance Arena. The team participate in the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The team replaced the American Hockey League's Portland Pirates after the franchise became the Springfield Thunderbirds in 2016.
