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 operated the league from 2000 to 2013, at which point it was purchased by the individual franchise owners. As of the end of its final season in 2014, three of the 30 National Hockey League teams had affiliations with the CHL: the Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the United States and Canada. The league was headquartered in Rochester, Michigan, and, in its last year, consisted of seven teams. It folded in 2010, with most of its teams joining the Central Hockey League. The Central Hockey League teams still operating in 2014 were then added to ECHL. The only former CoHL/UHL/IHL teams still active as of 2022 are the Fort Wayne Komets and Kalamazoo Wings.
The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This team was previously a member of the Central Hockey League (CHL), the original International Hockey League (IHL), and the second International Hockey League (UHL/IHL). Founded in the original IHL They have won four post-season championship titles in the original IHL in 1963, 1965, 1973, and 1993, four in the UHL/second IHL in 2003, 2008, 2009, and 2010, one in the CHL in 2012, and one in the ECHL in 2021. In all of North American professional hockey, only the Original Six teams of the NHL and the Hershey Bears of the AHL have played continuously in the same city with the same name longer than the Komets.
The Wichita Thunder are a minor league hockey team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team played in the Central Hockey League from 1992 until 2014, and then in the ECHL since the 2014–15 season. From 1992 until December 2009, the Thunder played in the Britt Brown Arena located in the northern Wichita suburb of Park City. In January 2010, the team began playing its home games at the newly built Intrust Bank Arena. The Thunder are currently the ECHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks.
The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tulsa Oilers name was shared with Tulsa's former minor-league baseball team that pre-dated the Tulsa Drillers. To reduce confusion in local news reporting, the hockey team was often called the "Ice Oilers".
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 Arizona Sundogs were a minor league professional ice hockey team based in Prescott Valley, Arizona. They played in the Central Hockey League from 2006 to 2014 with their home games at Tim's Toyota Center.
Richard St. Croix is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 131 games in the National Hockey League with the Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs between 1978 and 1985. After his playing career he worked as an assistant coach for the Maple Leafs. He also served as a goaltending coach for the Dallas Stars, and an assistant coach and goaltending coach for the Manitoba Moose and St. John's IceCaps of the American Hockey League. He was selected in the fourth round of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft by the Flyers, and his two sons would also be drafted, though neither played in the NHL.
Stephen Paul Martinson is an American former professional ice hockey player and coach. He played 49 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, and Minnesota North Stars between 1987 and 1992. The rest of his playing career, which lasted from 1981 to 1996, was spent in various minor leagues. After retiring as a player he turned to coaching, and his 1,123 career professional coaching wins are the most ever for an American born ice hockey head coach.
The Toledo Walleye are a professional ice hockey team based in Toledo, Ohio. The Walleye are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the ECHL. The Walleye were founded in 1991 as the Toledo Storm and play their home games at the Huntington Center, which opened in 2009. Since the beginning of the 2009–10 season, the team has been affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League and the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League with an agreement in place through the 2023–24 season.
The Rapid City Rush are a professional ice hockey team in the ECHL based in Rapid City, South Dakota, and play their home games at The Monument. The Rush are currently a minor affiliate of the Calgary Flames NHL franchise.
Todd Griffith is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward.
The Kansas City Mavericks are an ice hockey team in the ECHL. Founded in 2009 as the Missouri Mavericks of the CHL, the team plays in Independence, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, at the Cable Dahmer Arena.
The Dayton Gems were a minor professional ice hockey team based in Dayton, Ohio, in the Central Hockey League. The team was originally a member of the International Hockey League before it merged into the CHL in 2010. The team played their home games at the Hara Arena in nearby Trotwood.
The 2010–11 CHL season was the 19th season of the Central Hockey League (CHL).
Nick Boucher is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Fort Wayne Komets of the CHL.
The 2011–12 Missouri Mavericks season was the third season of the Central Hockey League (CHL) franchise in Independence, Missouri. On September 17, 2011, the Mavericks announced an affiliation agreement with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. On March 23, 2012, the Mavericks clinched a playoff berth with a 5–3 victory against the Bloomington Blaze. The Mavericks' season ended on April 26, 2012, when they were eliminated in Game 7 of the Turner Cup Conference Finals by the Fort Wayne Komets.
Shane Owen is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who currently plays for Fife Flyers in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).
The 2016–17 ECHL season was the 29th season of the ECHL. The regular season schedule ran from October 14, 2016 to April 9, 2017, with the Kelly Cup playoffs following. Twenty-seven teams in 21 states and one Canadian province each played a 72-game schedule.
