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 World Hockey Association 2 was a minor professional ice hockey league created at the instigation of the organizers of the proposed recreated World Hockey Association to serve as its development league. The WHA2 teams — some of which had played the 2002–03 season in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League — were all in the southeastern United States. David Waronker was the league's founder and also served as the league's commissioner.
The Jacksonville Barracudas were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They were established in 2002, and played in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League (2002–2003), the World Hockey Association 2 (2003–2004), and the Southern Professional Hockey League (2004–2008), before folding in 2008.
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 SPHL is a professional ice hockey independent minor league based in Huntersville, North Carolina, with teams located primarily in the southeastern United States as well as Illinois and Indiana in the midwestern United States.
The Florida Seals were a minor league ice hockey franchise, a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). Originally based in Orlando, Florida, as the Orlando Seals, they later moved to Kissimmee, Florida, a suburb thirty miles south of Orlando in Osceola County. The Seals were one of eight minor league hockey teams purchased or founded by David Waronker starting in 2003.
The Sunshine Hockey League (SuHL) was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 to 1995. The league was based in Florida and consisted of five teams in its inaugural 1992–93 season. Each team's initial head coaches were former NHL players including Bill Nyrop, West Palm Beach; Rocky Saganiuk, Daytona Beach; Jim Mikol, Lakeland Warriors; and Lou Francheschetti, Jacksonville Bullets.
The Columbus Cottonmouths were a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Georgia. The team is nicknamed the Snakes and played their home games at the Columbus Civic Center. In 2017, the team suspended operations after failing to find a new owner.
The Fayetteville Marksmen are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Fayetteville, North Carolina. They currently play in the SPHL and play their home games in the Crown Coliseum.
The Huntsville Havoc are a professional ice hockey team in the SPHL. They play their home games at the Von Braun Center in downtown Huntsville, Alabama.
The Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) was a minor league hockey organization that operated between 1981 and 1987. The league was founded by Bill Coffey. The Bob Payne Trophy was awarded to the team who won the league playoff championship.
The Virginia Lancers were a minor league hockey team that played in several leagues from 1983 until 1990. Their home ice was the Vinton Sports Complex, which held 3400 people.
The Huntsville Channel Cats was a professional ice hockey team based in Huntsville, Alabama. The franchise was a member of several different leagues, the Southern Hockey League (1995–1996), the Central Hockey League (1996–2001) and the South East Hockey League (2003–2004). They played their home games at Von Braun Center Arena in downtown Huntsville.
The Knoxville Knights were a minor professional ice hockey team based in the James White Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Knights played for seven seasons in the Eastern Hockey League from 1961 to 1968. The Knights folded at the end of the 1967–68 season. The Knights had the distinction of having the youngest player in EHL history appear in a game during their existence. On March 13, 1966 in a game against the Jacksonville Rockets, Knights head coach Doug Bentley inserted his son Doug, Jr. into the lineup after a rash of injuries hit the team a few days before. Doug, Jr, was born June 1, 1951, making him 14 years of age at the time of his Knights debut.
The Atlantic Coast Hockey League was a professional minor league ice hockey league based in the United States. The second league to bear the name Atlantic Coast Hockey League, it operated for only one season, 2002–2003, before its franchises split into two new leagues.
Bill Coffey is a businessman and minor league sports entrepreneur. He is one of the founders of the ECHL. Founded in 1988, the ECHL is a minor professional ice hockey league that serves as a development league for the NHL. The ECHL iced 20 teams during the 2009–10 season.
The Birmingham Bulls are a professional ice hockey team in Pelham, Alabama, that began to play in the 2017–18 season as a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL). The team is named after the previous Birmingham-area teams in the World Hockey Association and East Coast Hockey League.
Mississippi has an inglorious history with ice hockey in the United States. Though a few teams have attempted to call the state home since the 1990s, few have met with any success.